NY Aftermath
by CybrAngl
Summary: Some scenes I felt were missing at the end of Mayhem.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm not really sure where I'm going with this but there were parts of Mayhem that I felt were left open. It was in those gaps that I think I have a story so this is my attempt. I hope you all enjoy….. **

He waited in his room inside the emergency room for the nurse to come with his discharge papers. He had been checked out and given some pain medication but luckily nothing was broken. The events of the night repeating inside his head. He wanted to talk to Penelope but knew that she needed to cool off before he approached her. The door to his room opened and Hotch and Emily walked in.

"We just talked to the nurse, she told us she was getting your papers ready" Hotch said.

Morgan nodded in response and asked "Is everyone ok?"

Hotch knew exactly who he was asking about and nodded. "I'll go check on your release papers and see if we can't get that going. We still need to go back and have you give your report." He said.

As Hotch walked out, Emily came closer to Morgan and asked "How you feeling? Do you need anything?"

"Sore but I'm fine. How's she doing?" He asked.

"She's doing. What the hell were you thinking?" Emily said.

"Em, I love you but I'm not willing to put up with a lecture right now. I didn't put her in that position on purpose AND I might add she contacted me not the other way around. When I saw what we were up against I had no choice. It's bad enough she's so pissed at me she's not even willing to come down here. I just can't do this right now." He said.

"Don't give me that shit, we always have choices and the first of those is not to put ourselves in danger knowingly. You took this a step further and put her in a position that she was with you all the way. Do you have any idea what this is doing to her?" Emily said angrily.

"You make it sound like this was something I wanted to do. Like I had a choice. Who was going to take this bomb out Em? There was no time for anything other than to drive that ambulance out of there. If I hadn't done that, we'd all be dead. Would that have been any better for anyone?" Derek said the frustration clearly in his voice.

"Derek, you know how she feels about you! Can you imagine what she went through thinking you were going to die??? Can you imagine what it was like for her those few seconds that you didn't respond?? That was Irresponsible of you!" Emily snapped back.

"You guys keep making more of our feelings then there really are. We're friends! You keep talking about how we feel about each other even though she's with Kevin, and you keep insisting there's more. She doesn't love me that way, get over it." Morgan shouted.

Emily smiled and shook her head. "Oh wow, you don't see it do you? Or you're afraid to see it! OMG, Derek Morgan you're scared!" Emily said surprised.

"What??" Derek said as he looked up at her.

"You're scared. She's with Kevin, so in your mind, she doesn't feel the same way about you. I can't believe it." Emily said.

"Let it go Em! I told you already, I don't want to get into this with you." Derek said annoyed.

"I'll let it go Derek, but before I do, let me just say this. You're both kidding yourselves if you think that these feelings just go away. They don't. If you're both willing to throw away what might be the only chance you get at happiness then it's up to you both. But fear should never be the excuse. I will say that I never thought I'd see the day when Derek Morgan.. THE Derek Morgan was afraid." Emily said.

"So what's your excuse Em?" Derek countered. "How do you and Hotch justify it."

"That's low Derek." Emily said.

Just then, Hotch walked in with the nurse holding Derek's discharge papers. Emily knew that Derek had his suspicions about her feelings for Hotch but she wasn't ready to admit them to herself just yet, much less Derek.

After giving Derek his instructions and signing was seemed like 100 forms, they all walked out and headed toward the SUV. The ride back to the office was quiet. Derek thought about Penelope and all the things that Emily had said. Hotch was too pissed to even talk and Emily, she just sat there not willing to let Derek see just how much he'd gotten her. Yes she loved Hotch but her and Hotch were a different story all together. First of all Hotch wasn't even divorced yet and he was after all her Boss. This would ruin his career and she would be forced t o transfer. When they arrived back at the office, the chaos that had been created was still very apparent. Derek walked straight into the building without waiting for anyone. Hotch walked around the SUV and met up with Emily as they both walked inside the building. He wasn't sure what had happened between Derek and Emily but it was obvious something had transpired while he was out of the room. He wasn't about to ask Emily about it either because he felt he was probably better off not knowing. He did know one thing for sure, it must have been a hell of conversation to get Derek worked up, and he knew Derek well enough to know, worked up he was.

It took several hours to get Derek's statement and it was Rossi that suggested that Hotch and Emily go back to the hotel. He had volunteered to take Derek back to the Hotel after everything was done. "There's no sense in all of us losing sleep." He had argued.

Back at the hotel Penelope sat in her bed waiting for Emily to return. She had already been told he was ok, but she wanted the whole story. When Emily had walked into the room, Penelope quickly jumped out of bed and waited for Emily to let her know what was going on. After she was told that Derek was released and ok, she seemed to relax a little bit. "Has he returned yet?" Penelope asked Emily.

"No Hun, he was at the office giving them his report. Rossi will be bringing him back." Emily replied. "Do you want me to call Rossi?"

Penelope shook her head. "No, I was just curious is all." She said and went right back to bed.

Derek had finished giving his statements and completed his report. He was exhausted and in a bit of pain. As he and Rossi walked to the car, Rossi noticed him holding his shoulder and asked "Have you taken your pill yet?"

"I'll take one when I get to the room. I'm not sure how my body is going to react and I'd rather be in bed." Derek said.

As they got into the car, Rossi turned to Derek and said "I'm not sure if anyone has said this or not, but Thank you."

Derek was confused. "For what?" He asked.

"For what you did today. Whether or not Hotch agrees with it, you did save our lives and the lives of many people." Rossi said.

"I did my job Rossi, nothing more." Derek said as he leaned his head against the seat rest and closed his eyes.

"You do know that she was in the waiting room right?" Rossi asked.

This caught Derek's attention and he opened his eyes to look at Rossi. "No I didn't." He said.

"Give her time Derek; she will process it all so it makes sense to her." Rossi told him.

Derek simply nodded and closed his eyes again. It's not that he didn't want to hear the older man's opinion; it was just that he wasn't ready to listen to another lecture about how everyone could see how they felt about each other or how obvious it was that they cared. Emily's lecture was enough for one night. When they arrived at the hotel, Derek quickly got out of the truck, thanked Rossi for the ride and headed towards his room. He wanted to just sleep. Sleeping would stop his mind from thinking about Penelope and about the night's activities.

After taking a quick shower, Derek took one of the pain pills that had been prescribed and jumped into bed. He knew that sleep would be elusive and he would need any help he could get. As he tried to drift off, he thought about his baby girl and how much he wanted to talk to her. He knew that giving her the space she needed was important; after all he had told her he could wait. It was then that he decided he would ride home with Hotch. This way he could give her that space and at the same time, clear up some things with Hotch. He wasn't sure how mad Hotch was, but there was no better way to find out than sitting in a car with him for hours.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken so long to update this story but life has gotten in the way. I usually won't publish a story unless I have several chapters already in the works. Hopefully I'll be updating this regularly. Thank you so much for the reviews, I hope to send each of you a personal note. I hope you enjoy this chapter…… As always, I do not own but I do borrow Criminal Minds and hopefully I do the characters justice ******

She reached over and turned off the alarm clock. It was only 5am but she had been tossing and turning all night and her efforts to actually fall asleep had been fruitless. She got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. She figured that if they all had to meet up for breakfast at 7am she'd get a jump start on the bathroom and be ready and out of the way for the girls. All night she had been thinking about Derek and what had happened. It finally dawned on her at around 2am that she was mad at him for the wrong reasons. She felt horrible. She knew the real reason she was angry was because she couldn't separate her feelings from her responsibility. She realized that it didn't matter who was at the end of the conversation, her job was to get them to safety and do exactly what she had done. She would straighten all this out with him and start with a huge apology just as soon as they met up for breakfast.

At 6am, Derek was at the hotel counter checking out. He had left a note for Rossi explaining that he wouldn't be flying back with them but instead driving Hotch back home. He asked Rossi not to say anything to Hotch about the drive because he knew his boss would object. Instead he told Rossi to tell them all that he would meet up with them back at Quantico. When the team came down for breakfast at 7 the news that Derek wouldn't be joining them disappointed Penelope and both Emily and JJ could see it.

Breakfast was uneventful as nobody really spoke much. When they were finished, they all drove to the office to drop Hotch off and then headed to the airport to catch the plane. Once they had boarded it was Emily that first approached Penelope and touched the subject about Derek.

"Want to share a little?" Emily asked gently.

"Nothing to share really. He's mad and he chose not to join us. I can't really say I blame him." Penelope said dryly.

"He's mad???? What about you?" Emily said.

"Em, I love you and I know that you're reacting to me and not the situation. I was wrong here not Derek." Penelope said.

"How can you say that? He broke protocol Pen! He put himself in danger knowingly! He dragged you into it! DO NOT DEFEND HIM!" Emily said angrily.

Penelope reached over and grabbed Emily's hand and smiled. "Em, his breaking protocol is not an issue for me to handle, that's up to Hotch. Had Derek discussed the situation with Hotch, you and I both know that Derek would have been told to try to disarm it. That's part of his background. He did what he had to do Em; there was no time for any other option. I know hind sight is 20/20 but he had the timing down to a science and he was right. When the bomb went off, had he not taken the ambulance out, you and I wouldn't be having this discussion. Em, he saved you all." Penelope said gently.

Emily lowered her head and hesitated on her reply. She knew Penelope was right but putting her in that position was still wrong in her eyes. "He didn't have to put you through all that! It didn't have to play out that way!" She said stubbornly.

Once again Penelope smiled at Emily and said "Yes he did Em. It's my job. If Hotch had given him orders to do this, it still would have been me to block the satellites and let him know how much time he had. Don't you see? He did what he had to do, but so did I. I can't be mad at him for that! The person I should be upset with is me! If I can't separate my feelings from my job then I have no right being here. Last night I kept asking myself one question and I couldn't answer it! Would I have reacted any differently had the order to move that ambulance come from Hotch? You know what? I couldn't answer that!"

"What if it had been Kevin at the wheel of that ambulance?" Emily said.

Penelope thought about the question and held back any answer. The lack of response was sufficient for Emily. Sometimes silence is worth a thousand words.

_**Back at the New York Office….. **_

Derek and Hotch were headed towards the SUV discussing Quantico's request for Derek's transfer…

"My opinion doesn't matter the jobs yours if you want it." Hotch said.

"Hotch, your opinion matters to me." Derek said.

"My life matters to me and I have and always will entrust you with it. Would you do the same for me?" Hotch asked. "You still want to drive?"

Derek looked at Hotch and then back to the SUV and clicked the Alarm in response. As hurt as he was by Hotch's revelation the fact remained that he didn't act as part of a team but instead went solo. As Derek started the SUV and began the drive towards Quantico. He thought about his conversation with Hotch and the fact that Hotch didn't feel he was ready to lead a team. Hotch's opinion of him was important to Derek more important than Gideon's had been. He had to admit that hearing Hotch say those things to him hurt but he also understood where he was coming from. If he had to be honest with himself while he was flattered that he was considered for the NY position he didn't want it. He saw what Hotch went through day to day and there wasn't enough money that would justify the politics of the job. His train of thought was interrupted when he heard Hotch speak.

"Did you talk to her yet?" Hotch asked.

"No I wanted to wait until we got to Quantico; I figured that would give her some time to cool off." Derek said.

"That's probably a good idea." Hotch said.

"Hey, how's Jack doing?" Derek said.

"He's adjusting to all this but he seems to be handling it all well. He'll be with me tomorrow." Hotch said.

"No chance of you two working things out?" Derek asked.

Hotch just shook his head. "What about you? Any chance you'll ever tell Penelope how you feel?" Hotch said.

"Wow, you don't hold back do you? So much for small talk!" Derek said.

"You're evading the question." Hotch said as he looked right at Derek.

"Hotch; she's happy why would I rock the boat?" He replied.

"Who's to say she wouldn't be happier with you? Why are you making that choice for her?" Hotch asked.

"Hotch; she doesn't feel that way about me. She's happy with Kevin. She made her choice and I won't mess with that." Derek said sounding a little irritated.

"She wasn't aware that she had options when she started up with Kevin. Had she known that there were other options than maybe she would have made a different choice. And you keep fooling yourself about how you both feel, eventually you might believe it." Hotch said.

Nothing else was said between them for the next hour. Both of them busy in their own thoughts. It wasn't until they were close to Quantico that Hotch turned to Derek and said "I'll put my recommendation in tomorrow."

Derek surprised by the statement that seemed to have come from left field turned to Hotch and said "I won't be accepting the job Hotch. I trust your judgment on this." Derek responded.

Not another word was spoken about the NY office or the position that was available to him. The rest of the trip consisted of small talk. They were interrupted when Hotch's phone rang. Derek noticed that Hotch hadn't heard it and said "Hotch, your phone is ringing."

Hotch flipped it open and said "Hotchner."

"_Where are you guys?" Emily asked. _

"We're about 30 minutes away from the office. You all home already?" Hotch asked.

"_I just got home and JJ and Penelope already checked in. I'm still waiting for Reid and Rossi to call." Emily said. _

"I'll call you when I'm home." Hotch said. With that he closed his phone and avoided Derek's look.

"When are you two planning on finally giving this a shot?" Derek asked.

"What are you talking about?" Hotch asked still avoiding looking at Derek.

"Give it up Hotch, we all see it. What's holding you back?" Derek asked.

"It's not that simple Morgan. She's my subordinate. We both love what we do and one of us would have to give it up. I'd never ask her to do that." Hotch said.

"Like you told me boss man, she has a right to know she has a choice." Derek said with a smirk.

Hotch looked over at him and shook his head. "Words really don't taste good when you're eating your own." Hotch said and smiled.

Derek just smiled and kept driving. Some things were better left alone…. For now.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. Life is still quite hectic. I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always, I don't own them, I'm just borrowing them for a little while and hoping I do them justice ******

When they arrived at Quantico they checked in the SUV and headed straight for their cars. Derek had grabbed and walked over to Hotch's car with him. As he placed the bag in his car Hotch said "You weren't at breakfast this morning when I told the team so you wouldn't know, but you guys have the next week off. I don't want to you see you around the office until next Monday."

"Not a problem Hotch." Derek said as he started to walk towards his truck.

"Oh and Morgan?" Hotch said. Derek turned towards Hotch.

"Make good use of this time." Hotch said and smiled.

Derek smiled at Hotch and turned around, as he walked away he yelled out at Hotch "YOU DO THE SAME BOSS MAN!"

Hotch smiled and got into his car.

As Derek drove home he thought about his baby girl. He wanted to talk to her so much. He wanted to make sure things were ok between them. It took all the control he had not to drive to her house. He had promised her he'd wait and he wasn't about to break that promise. He instead drove to the kennel to pick up Clooney. When he walked in the receptionist gave him a quizzical look.

"Hey Angie, hope Clooney wasn't too active this time." Derek said.

"Hi Mr. Morgan. You're not here for Clooney are you because Ms. Garcia picked him up about 2 hours ago." Angie said.

"She did?" Derek asked.

"Yes, I hope that's ok, She's picked him up before so I didn't think much of it." Angie said.

"Yes that's fine. She's on the list. Thanks Angie." Derek said and walked out and towards his truck. When he sat inside he couldn't hold back the smile that appeared on his face. He knew that if Clooney was with her, he'd be seeing her pretty soon. He drove home and concentrated on the hot shower and the pain pill that was waiting for him. He hadn't said anything to Hotch, but his arm had been bothering him most of the trip and he knew that he needed a good night's rest. He walked into his home and headed straight for the fridge pulled out a soda and drank half in one gulp. He looked at the half empty bottle thinking a beer would have been so much better but alcohol and pain pills were definitely not a good mix.

Penelope had been home for several hours. Occasionally she would look at her watch and try and figure out where Hotch and Derek were on the trip. She was anxious. She wanted to talk to Derek but was too scared to call him. She had tried to keep herself busy by cleaning up her apartment and playing with Clooney. When they returned she had gone to pick him up at the Kennel thinking that maybe Derek wouldn't make it on time and she hated thinking that Clooney had to spend another night there. As much as she hated to admit it, it was also a really good excuse to see Derek after all she would have to take Clooney home. She finally gave in and sent Derek a text message.

Derek headed towards the couch figuring he'd watch a little TV before taking a shower. As he sat down and grabbed the remote he heard the text message alert on his phone. He flipped it open and smiled. There on the screen was a message from his baby girl. "Are you guys home yet?" He was typing in a response when he decided to call her instead. This was one way for him to hear his baby girl.

"This better be your way of telling me your home handsome because otherwise it means you're reading text messages on the road." She said trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

"Yea baby I'm home. We got home about an hour ago. By the way, thanks for picking up Clooney." He said.

"I wasn't sure you'd make it there on time and I didn't want to leave him there another night." She said.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm a little sore but nothing to write home about. How about you?" He asked.

"I'm good." She said.

"Do you have plans for tonight? Do you want me to come get Clooney?" He asked hoping she'd say yes so he'd have an excuse to see her.

"No it's ok; I have no plans for tonight." She said.

"You and Kevin aren't going out? He asked a little surprised.

"No, we don't have any plans." She said. "How about you? No hot date tonight?"

"Oh yea, a really hot date." He said smiling.

"Oh then don't worry handsome, I can keep Clooney." She said.

"Its ok sweetheart, my hot date is the shower I'm going to take before I take a pain pill." He said chuckling.

Penelope laughed and had to admit to herself she was glad he didn't have a hot date. "Have you eaten?" She asked.

"No I wasn't really hungry." He said.

"You have to eat something if you're going to take a pain pill. I'll tell you what, why don't I take Clooney over and pick up a pizza while I'm on the way." She asked.

"That sounds great. I'll leave the door open for you, just walk in and make yourself at home, you know where everything is." Derek said.

"Ok handsome, see you in a little bit." She said and hung up. She smiled knowing that she'd be spending some time with her sexy profiler.

Derek put away his go bag and pulled out a bottle of red wine. He knew Penelope was partial to red and he wanted to have it out for when she arrived.

Penelope quickly got all of Clooney's things together and headed towards the door. "Come on boy, let's go see Daddy." She said to Clooney. When they got into the car, Penelope called Derek's favorite Pizza place and ordered a pie to go. She'd get to the Pizza place just as the Pie was coming out of the oven. As she drove there it hit her that she knew Derek's favorite Pizza place, his favorite Diner, his favorite Mall and his favorite meal. She knew more about Derek Morgan than she knew about Kevin. She wasn't even sure if Kevin liked Italian food. Shaking her head she realized what she'd pretty known all along, her relationship with Kevin was not THE relationship she wanted. As nice as he was and as kind and good as he was to her, he just wasn't THE guy for her.

She arrived at Derek's and walked in, looking around she realized he was still in the shower. She walked into the kitchen to get things set for dinner and noticed the bottle of red wine with a glass next to it and smiled. He knew her so well. She put out Clooney's bowls and filled them with food and water just as Derek walked out of his bedroom.

"Hey Baby girl I could have done that" Derek said.

When she looked up she was speechless. There he was in all his glory, sweats and no shirt. It took her a minute to recover and then got up and went over to him to give him a hug. "It really should be a sin to look that sexy you know." She said giggling.

"Look who's talking?" He said and grinned.

They took the pizza to the living room and sat on the couch to eat. After finishing up with dinner they caught up and talked about anything and everything. "Do you have any plans for this week?" Derek asked.

"Actually I'm just going to rest and relax. I wasn't expecting this vacation time so I thought I'd just lounge around." Penelope said. "How about you, are you going to do anything?"

"I was actually thinking about going to visit my mom and sisters. Mom's been complaining about my lack of visits lately." Derek said. "It's too bad that Kevin can't take some time off too."

Penelope looked at Derek but didn't answer. She wasn't really sure she wanted to let him in on her relationship problems but felt guilty about keeping secrets from him.

"Is everything ok with you two?" Derek said.

She lowered her head and avoided his eyes. "Kevin and I are on a break." She said barely audible.

Derek placed his fingers on her chin and gently lifted her face. "Baby girl, I'm sorry is there anything I can do?" He asked.

Penelope shook her head gently and smiled. "It's ok really. I think it's the best thing that could have happened." She said.

"You know I have a great idea! Why don't you come with me to Chicago?" Derek asked.

"Derek I couldn't do that, that's your time with your Mom I couldn't intrude." She said.

"You wouldn't be intruding! My Mom would love to meet you and I would love to show you Chicago Morgan style." He said with a big grin.

"You sure? Penelope asked.

"Baby girl, I'm positive!" He said.

Penelope shook her head and smiled. "I'd love to go with you."

"Ok then, we have some tickets to buy." He said and smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: First I'd like to thank you all for the wonderful reviews and for more importantly for sticking with me on this story. My life has been crazy and I have little to no time for writing. I'm hoping that things will settle soon but I don't quite see the light at the end of the tunnel. I apologize for that as I hate leaving everyone in the balance on stories but sadly there is nothing I can really do right now. It will probably be a bit before I can update again and I'm sorry. I do promise though to see this story through. I hope you enjoy ******

They sat at Derek's computer and researched possible flights to Chicago. As they reviewed the schedules Penelope took notes of things that had to happen before they could go. Things like packing for the trip, talking to their neighbors about their mail, and taking Clooney back to the Kennel. The list seemed to grown but neither of them seem too worried. If they planned this out right they could make the late afternoon flight.

"Oh my god Derek, do you realize it's 3am?" Penelope asked as she looked at the clock on the desktop.

"Baby girl, if we're going to make that list happen and still fly out tomorrow, we need to get to bed. Why don't you stay in the spare room? All your things are still there." Derek said.

"You don't mind?" Penelope asked.

"Actually, I'd prefer it. I don't want you driving home this late. We'll get an early start tomorrow. Besides, this way you can cook breakfast." He said with a grin.

"In your dreams my vision." She said giggling.

They turned off the computer and with plans all set, they decided it was definitely bed time. Derek walked Penelope to the guest bedroom and before turning around to walk to his own room he said "Baby girl I really enjoyed tonight. I've really missed this. I've really missed … us."

Penelope smiled and said "Me too."

Derek grinned and walked towards his room. He had spent the entire night with his best friend and he had had a great time. He always had a great time with Penelope. He felt at ease and could be himself with her. He trusted her 100% and unconditionally. He lay down and turned off the lights. Even though it was now almost 3:30 in the morning, sleep wasn't really coming. He was tired but he was so excited about spending the next week with Penelope that it seemed to overpower the sandman. He thought about the things he wanted to show her in Chicago. He would take her to see where he grew up, the schools he attended, and the places he would hang out. He'd take her to the youth center that he used to go to and now helps support. He was excited about being able to spend an entire week with his baby girl and not have to share her with anyone. Tonight he had realized just how much he cared for... no just how much he loved Penelope. He was in love with her and the thought of this brought a smile to his face. He would take the opportunity of this week to show her and to tell her. The last time he waited she started to date Kevin. He was not about to lose the chance he'd been given again. Hotch was right, he had to tell her.

When Penelope turned off the lights she closed her eyes to go to sleep but the smile on her face just wouldn't go away. She'd spend the night with Derek and truly enjoyed herself for the first time in months. He was always so easy to be with. She knew that fantasy of him would never come true but she was satisfied just having him in her life. Being with Kevin just didn't feel right to her but then again she knew that being with anyone that wasn't Derek wasn't going to feel right. He had set the standards too high for anyone to reach. She was in love with Derek Morgan but would never be able to let him know. For now, being with him and spending the next week with him was enough for her. She would have her Dark Knight all to herself.

The following morning, Penelope woke to the smell of breakfast. She walked into the kitchen to find Derek setting the table for them. "Good Morning doll how did you sleep?" Derek said smiling.

"Like a rock. I almost forgot where I was." She said.

"Come eat, breakfast is ready and we have a list to get through before we leave." He said.

They chatted as they ate breakfast and went over the list of things that needed to get done before they left. When they were done with breakfast, they both cleaned up and made the beds. "Derek, I'm going to head out and start with my list how about I meet you back here at 2?" Penelope asked.

"Baby girl I'll pick you up at your place, we can go in my car and we'll leave it at the airport." He said.

"Ok I'll see you in a bit." She said as she walked out the door.

As he drove to her apartment 4 hours later he went over and over the list in his mind making sure that everything done. He was so excited about this trip that his concentration wasn't all there. As he got closer to Penelope's he realized he hadn't called his Mom to let her know. Nervously he picked up his phone and called. He was nervous about telling her. He was nervous about his favorite girls finally getting to meet.

"Hello?" Fran answered.

"Hi Ma it's me." Derek said.

"Hi Baby. Is everything ok?" Fran asked.

"Yea Ma everything's fine. I was calling to let you know that we have a week off from work and we'll be heading up there to spend some time with you." Derek said.

"We?" Fran said.

"Yea Ma I'm coming with Penelope." Derek said as he felt himself blush. He felt like a schoolboy all of a sudden.

Fran smiled. "I'll finally get to meet the famous Penelope. Will you both be staying here?" Fran asked.

"Yea Ma if that's ok." Derek said.

"Of course that's ok. Penelope won't mind sharing a room with Des will she?" Fran asked.

"No Ma she won't. She can also have my room; I can sleep on the couch." Derek said.

"Nonsense! We'll have everything ready for when you arrive. When do you guys get here?" Fran asked.

"We'll be there by 6 and we'll be ready for some real home cooking." Derek said with a grin.

"I can't wait. The girls are going to be so happy that you're coming." Fran said.

"Ok Ma I'll see you later on then." Derek said.

"I love you Baby, I'll see you later." Fran said and hung up.

"Who was that Ma?" Des asked her mother.

"That was Derek, he's coming for the week and he's brining Penelope." Fran said.

Des smiled. She knew that there was something between her brother and Derek but she could never get him to admit it. Whenever they talked he always managed to bring Penelope into the conversation. "I wonder if he finally said something to her about how he feels" Des asked.

"We'll find out soon enough. For now let's just focus on getting this house ready for them. I didn't ask him any questions and you know Derek, he wasn't volunteering any information." Fran said.

"I'm going to call Sarah and see if he's said anything to her." Des said.

"Young lady, stop being such a busy body. He'll tell us his own way if there is anything to tell." Fran said.

Des smiled. "Come on now Ma, you and I both know you're thinking grand babies. I'm not going to pry, I'm just going to ask for some background here." Des said.

Fran simply smiled. She knew that nothing she said was going to stop Des from trying to find out. In truth, if she was going to be honest with herself she too wanted to know. She would always hear stories about Penelope and often wondered about her son's relationship with her, she knew there was something special about Penelope because her son seemed to be so connected to her. That type of connection was rare for Derek.

"Hello Sarah? Wait till I tell you the news." Des said to Sarah over the phone as she giggled.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. Luckily this chapter has come up a little faster than the others. I hope you enjoy. **

As the plane circled in the air, the view of the city below kept Penelope busy. She looked out the window and was marveled by the tall buildings of the city and green of the outskirts of the city that she would soon be landing in. All she could think of was seeing the places her handsome profiler had grown up in. She was nervous about meeting his family and no matter how many times he told her to relax because they were going to love her, she couldn't help but wonder how things would go. They were so important to Derek and she was afraid she wouldn't make a good impression.

"Penny for your thoughts." Derek said.

Penelope looked at him and smiled. "I was just thinking that I should call the girls when we land, they have no clue that we took off and I know they'll be upset if I don't let them know." She said.

"Is that all?" He asked.

"Yea that's all." She replied hoping that she sounded convincing.

Derek grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. "We should be landing in a few minutes. When we get the car I'll show you around the city before we head to the house, it'll give you a little more time to settle and relax." He said smiling.

"No interdepartmental profiling!!!" She said laughing.

"I'm not! Technically you're in another department." He said giving her his winning smile.

Penelope glared at him but couldn't keep a straight face. "You don't play fair!!! Giving me that say it all smile is downright cruel!" She said.

Once they had landed they both proceeded to get their luggage and rent a car. As they drove out of the airport, Derek pointed out different highways and where they led, he pointed out landmarks and once downtown, made it a point to drive by famous gangster hangouts and the Sears Tower. An hour and a half after they landed, Derek pulled up to his Mom's house. He offloaded the car and they both went up to his Mom's house. When Fran opened the door she immediately wrapped her son in her arms and hugged him tight.

"Baby it's so good to see you." She said. She took a step back to look him over and placed her hands on his cheeks as she said "you look thin. Have you been eating properly?"

Derek laughed. "Yes Ma, I'm taking care of myself. I weight the same as I weighed the last time I was here." He said. "Ma, I'd like you to meet Penelope Garcia."

"Ohh Penelope it's so wonderful to finally get to meet you. My son talks about you all the time." Fran said.

"MA!" Derek said finding himself a little embarrassed.

Penelope giggled. "It's nice to finally meet you too Mrs. Morgan." She said.

"Oh darling, call me Fran please." Fran said.

Penelope smiled. "Fran."

"Come in you two or are you planning on staying in the hallway the whole time?" Fran said.

Fran ordered Derek to put Penelope's luggage in Des' room while she showed Penelope around. "I hope you don't mind sharing a room with Des." Fran said.

"Not at all Mrs… Fran, thank you for having me I know this was a surprise visit." Penelope said.

"It's a wonderful surprise Penelope." Fran said as she grabbed Penelope's hand and squeezed it. "I've heard so much about you and I'm so excited to finally get to meet my son's baby girl."

Just then Derek walked in on them but Penelope was surprised by Fran's statement. _"How did she know what Derek called her?"_ She thought.

Des came in and ran directly towards Derek, jumping into his arms. Penelope watched as the siblings interchanged hellos and couldn't help but smile. She had 4 brothers, but their relationship was very distant nothing at all like the relationship that Derek had with his sisters. She was envious of that. She had always felt so alone in the world and would have loved to have had a solid relationship with her siblings.

"You must be the famous Penelope." Des said as she walked towards Penelope.

Penelope smiled at Des and found herself put completely at ease as Des wrapped her arms around her and hugged her. "It's about time we got to meet you." Des said.

"Would anyone like something to drink?" Fran asked.

"Ma I'd love some coffee." Derek said.

"Penelope?" Fran asked.

"That would be great." Penelope said.

They all followed Fran into the kitchen and for the next few hours until Sarah arrived, they all chatted and Des was quick to bring up some of Derek's childhood stories. They were laughing so hard that none of them heard the front door open and Sarah come in.

"Hey now, how come the party started before I got here." Sarah said.

"Because we wanted to make sure we had a good time before you arrived and ruined it all." Derek said teasing his sister as he got up and went over to hug her.

"Don't make me embarrass you in front of Penelope." Sarah teased and she hugged him tight.

Penelope stood up to meet Sarah and found herself embraced in another hug similar to the one Des had given her.

"Where are the twins?" Derek asked.

"I didn't bring them today. If they find out you're here I'll never get them to go home and I wasn't sure what you're plans are so I figured I'd play it safe." Sarah said.

"We'll be here all week. I was planning on showing Penelope the sites around Chicago, where we went to school, letting her see the Youth Center and take in a few attractions and maybe take in the Skyline Cruise. But I want to see the twins." Derek said.

"You will, I'll let them know you are here and bring them over one night that you guys are here." Sarah said.

They continued to chat a while and had dinner. After dinner they moved to the living room and continued to laugh about Derek's childhood antics. Penelope found herself laughing so hard at times that tears were rolling down her cheeks. Derek took the teasing in stride and gave back a few good stories of his own. Penelope was surprised at how at ease she felt with everyone. They had made her feel so at home that the nerves she had been feeling earlier were completely gone. She knew they all had a wonderful relationship, but seeing it up close, it amazed her. She looked over to Fran who was sitting back enjoying the fact that all her kids were in one room and she couldn't help but admire her. She had raised them by herself and she had definitely done an amazing job.

The little subtleties between Derek and Penelope hadn't gone unnoticed by Fran or Derek's sisters. They way they sat next to each other at dinner and in the living room. The way that Derek put his hand on her knees as the stories about his childhood dragged out. The way he leaned back and put his arm around her and the way she seemed to sink into him when he did. More importantly the nick names they called each other. Derek hadn't mentioned anything other than she was his best friend, but they could sense something a little stronger than that. They spent most of the night exchanging glances every time one of them noticed another "subtlety" but they weren't about to mention anything to Derek until he was ready to talk about it.

At 11PM, Sarah got up and announced she had to go. They all said their goodbyes and after Sarah had left Penelope followed Fran into the kitchen to help clean up.

"Darling you don't have to do this. I'm sure you're tired why don't you go to bed, I can do this." Fran said.

"It's ok, I don't mind. Thank you so much for dinner tonight everything was wonderful." Penelope said.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. We love having you here. I know you help my son a lot, he tells me all the time. I'm very grateful he has you back in Virginia." Fran said.

"He helps me a lot too. You really have raised a wonderful man." Penelope said.

"I am very proud of him. I'm proud of all them but Derek had it a little rougher than the girls. I know his childhood was taken away from him and that's a big part of who he is and who he struggles with." Fran said.

"He doesn't blame you for that." Penelope said sensing Fran's guilt.

Fran smiled at Penelope. "Of course he doesn't. That's my son, it's how he is. But I can't help but feel that I should have seen what was going on."

"There was no way to see it. He wasn't about to let anyone know. He's put that all behind him Fran. Carl Buford didn't break him. He's a very strong person and he's very comfortable about who he is and what he's made of himself." Penelope stressed.

"Thank you. You two must be very close, he doesn't share with anyone. He still hasn't talked to us about that time in his life but he seems to have opened up to you. I'm grateful he has someone special in his life." Fran said and proceeded to hug Penelope.

Derek walked into the kitchen just in time to see two of his favorite girls bonding and right there and then he knew that he had to make this week count.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **First of all thanks for all the reviews. You guys make my day!!! Here's a short chapter I hope you enjoy. Please keep those reviews coming.  They really do help!

"You two seem to have everything under control here. It doesn't look like you need my help." Derek said with a grin.

"Actually I can finish up what's left here, why don't you go and show Penelope where she's going to sleep so she can settle in. Get her some fresh towels from the linen closet too." Fran said.

Penelope dried her hands and followed Derek to Des' room. Des was getting the spare bed ready when they both walked in. Derek had carried her bags to the room and placed them near the bed.

"I hope you don't mind sharing your room." Penelope said.

"Not at all, it'll be fun! I miss having Sarah here to chat with at night." Des said.

"You all set Baby girl?" Derek asked as he handed her some fresh towels.

"Yea angel I'm fine. Thank you." She said with a smile.

"We have a long day planned for tomorrow so get some rest. Don't let chatterbox here keep you up too late." Derek said as he ruffled Des' hair.

"You're just jealous because you can't join in on the girls chat." Des teased Derek.

Derek smiled at the comment and said "Yea I think you're right." And with that he turned to walked away closing the door and yelling out "Good night Baby girl, you too sis."

Derek went to the kitchen and found his mom putting away the last dish. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks Ma." He said and planted a kiss on top of her head.

"For what baby?" Fran asked.

"For being you. For making Penelope feel so welcomed. For not hounding me with questions about the grandbabies." Derek said and chuckled.

"Well before I start asking about grandbabies, I need to ask about relationships?" Fran said coyly.

Derek looked at his mother and smiled. "All in due time Ma… I'm still trying to figure it out myself." He said.

"Baby I think you both figured it out, you just haven't let each other in on it." Fran said.

"It's a little more complicated than that." He said.

"It's only as complicated as you make it baby. You both seem to be very comfortable around each other. "Fran said.

"We work together Ma and we're best friends. We confide in each other about everything. I don't want to lose that." Derek said as he pulled out a chair to sit down.

"Honey why would you lose that? You have the best foundation for a relationship. You both obviously care for each other. "Fran said.

"Ma she just took some time off of a relationship. I can't even say she's broken up. I have no idea how she feels or what she feels. I was hoping this week would give me some answers." Derek said.

Fran placed her hands on Derek's cheeks and leaned in to kiss the tip of nose. "Baby the only way to get answers is to ask questions. You can't figure out a relationship when only one person knows that it might possibly exist. You need to be honest and open with her. Sometimes we need to take a leap and risk getting hurt. "Fran said.

"I love you Ma." Derek said with a smile.

"I love you too Baby." Fran said. "Now get to bed you have a lot planned for tomorrow."

Derek went to his room and sat on his bed. His mother was right. It was going to take a lot more than a week of one on one with Penelope for him to get answers. At some point during this get a way he was going to have to be honest with her and tell her how he felt. It was going to be the only way he'd truly know. He lay down on the bed and fantasized about telling Penelope how he felt. He went over the words he would say and where he would say them. With these thoughts in his mind Derek fell asleep.

"Is it ok if I turn off the lights?" Des asked.

"Of course, I was just sending a text message to the girls. I wanted them to know that everything was ok." Penelope said.

"It's nice that you're all so close. Are they going to be coming up too?" Des asked.

"No they all had had their own plans for this week. This was an impulse trip." Penelope said.

"Impulse trip? In what way?" Des asked.

"It wasn't planned. Actually Derek had planned to come when he was told we all had the week off, he asked me to join him last night when we were watching movies." Penelope said.

"How long have you two been dating?" Des asked.

Laughing Penelope said "We're not dating. Derek and I are best friends."

"Oh I'm sorry I just assumed you were." Des said as she turned around in her bed and got ready to go to sleep. "Guess Mom is going to have to continue praying for them grandbabies."

Penelope giggled and snuggled under the covers. The thought of Des thinking that she and Derek were dating made her tummy jump. _"Get real Penelope, men like Derek Morgan don't date women like you."_ She said to herself. She knew that but it didn't stop her from fantasizing about him. She closed her eyes and thought about Des' question. _"What if we were dating? What if …"_ With those thoughts in her head Penelope went to sleep.

Derek felt a tap on his arm and woke up. "Des what's wrong?" he asked.

"Derek there's something wrong with Penelope, she's moaning and crying. I didn't ask her what was wrong I just came here to get you, I thought she'd feel more comfortable telling you." Des said.

Derek looked over at his clock and saw it was 4:30 in the morning, he immediately jumped out of bed. "She's having a nightmare." He said and quickly ran to Des' room. When he got there he could her struggling in bed and he immediately jumped in next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Shhhhh baby girl I'm right here. It's ok." He said.

Penelope turned to snuggle against Derek wrapping one arm around his waist and snuggling her face close to his chest. She calmed down immediately and didn't wake up. Derek looked up at Des who stood at the door looking worried.

"It's ok Des, she has nightmares. She'll be fine. Mind if I stay here with you guys?" Derek asked.

"No, it's ok by me. Do you want my bed?" Des asked.

"No I'll just lay here and hold her. She stays calm when I do and she sleeps." Derek said.

Des thought it best not to ask any questions but obviously this was something they had both done before. Derek knew exactly what she needed and Penelope responded immediately to it. Des smiled as she got back in bed and thought to herself _"Best friends my ass! I don't have my best friend holding me in the middle of night chasing away my nightmares."_ She made a mental note to talk to Sarah as soon as she could and fill her in.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: thank you so much for the kind reviews ******** Today was a good day and I've had time to write another update. I hope you all enjoy and please review ******

The following morning just as Fran was about to go into Derek's room to wake him, Des walked out of her room and closed the door. "Ma he's not in there, he's in my room sleeping." Des said.

"Why is he in your room?" Fran asked a bit surprised.

Des explained to Fran what had happened. "You should have seen it Ma, he got into bed with her and as soon as he hugged her and spoke to her she settled down. She never even woke up!" Des said.

"I'm glad he was able to help her." Fran said not sounding at all surprised.

"This is something that's happened before because he said that she stays calm when he holds her." Des added.

"Desiree Nicole you're bordering on gossip!" Fran said sternly.

"I'm not gossiping Ma. I actually hope that they are together. I like her and I love what she does to him. He's so much more relaxed around her. I just wish they would say something. They're both so tight lipped about things. They keep referring to each other as best friends. I have best friends Ma and I don't have THAT kind of a relationship with them." Des said.

"Don't you have school to attend?" Fran said trying to sound authoritive.

"I'm going. I'm going." Des said rolling her eyes as she left.

Fran stood there and shook her head. _"I don't know what I'm going to do with that child."_ She thought to herself as she headed towards the room to wake up Derek.

Penelope's eyes opened as the sun shone through the window. She was still half asleep and trying to get her bearings when she realized that Derek was in bed with her. She was confused to say the least and then realized they were at Derek's house and panicked.

"DEREK! DEREK! GET UP! OMG what are you doing in this bed? This is your Mom's house!" She said to Derek as she quickly got out of the bed. "What if she finds you here? She's going to think something is up!"

Derek was startled out of his sleep and was confused about Penelope's rant. "What are you going on about, you had a nightmare last night and Des came to get me. It's ok Penelope" he said trying to calm her down.

"OMG Derek I'm so embarrassed. What are your sister and Mom going to think?" Penelope said nervously.

"That you had a nightmare and my son tried to calm you down. " Fran said as she walked into the room.

"Oh Fran I'm so sorry this really isn't what it looks like." Penelope said embarrassed.

"Sweetheart its ok. I know all about the nightmares. Derek's had them several times when he's stayed here before. There's nothing to be concerned about." Fran said trying to sooth Penelope's fears.

Derek got out of bed and went to Penelope to try and settle her down. "Baby my Mom isn't going to think anything other than I was helping you get to sleep." Derek said as he gently placed a curl behind her ear and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

Penelope looked at Fran and back at Derek. She was obviously embarrassed. "I feel so bad for waking up Des." She said.

"She's a big girl, besides knowing Des she went right back to sleep. That girl can sleep standing up!" Fran said laughing. Derek and Penelope both laughed with her and that seemed to put Penelope at ease.

"Baby, if it'll make Penelope feel better we can ask Des to switch rooms with you or Penelope can sleep in your room." Fran said to Derek.

"Oh I couldn't ask Des to leave her room. That would be too much of an imposition." Penelope said. "I feel bad as it is."

"Ma, Pen can sleep with me. It'll keep both of our nightmares at bay." Derek said as he placed his arm around Penelope reassuringly.

"That's settled then. There's fresh coffee in the kitchen but I'm afraid I'll have to leave you too now. I have some meetings that I couldn't move and I have to attend." Fran said.

Derek walked over to his mother and kissed her on the cheek. "Don't work too hard. Every time you have one of these meetings you wind up with all the work and no help!" Derek said.

Derek walked his mom to the door and once locked he went back to the room. "Ok our day starts now so get ready, wear something comfortable and wear flat shoes." Derek said.

"Where are you taking me handsome?" Penelope asked.

"For me to know and for you to find out." Derek said smugly.

"So not fair! How do I know what to wear?" She asked pretending to pout.

"No no no, there will be no pouting! It's not going to work! Just go comfy nothing fancy!" Derek said as he walked out of the room and headed to his bedroom to change.

Thirty minutes later they were both ready to go. When Penelope walked out of the room Derek couldn't help but think she looked beautiful. She had put on a pair of jeans that hugged her body in all the right places. The blouse she had chosen was low cut and Derek found himself staring at her like a high school boy.

"Is this ok?" She asked.

"Mmmm baby you look gorgeous." He said not able to take his eyes off of her.

"Flattery will get you everywhere." She said coyly.

"Is that right?" He said grinning ear to ear.

"Care to test that theory?" She said giving him the smile she saved just for him.

"Baby girl you're killing me here!" Derek said as she shook his head and started to walk towards the front door.

Penelope grabbed her purse and smirked as she walked past Derek and out the door. "I do believe I won that round." She said smugly.

Derek laughed. If she only knew what she did to him.

Des was halfway to school before she called Sarah to fill her in on the events of the night before. As they chatted and exchanged observations it dawned on them that they were both seeing the same things. The glances, the smiles, the slight touches and the nicknames. "Sarah he flat out told me that when she has nightmares she feels better and settles when he holds her. That means they sleep together!" Des said excited about her news.

"Des you know how Derek is, he's the one that always came to the rescue." Sarah said.

"Sarah, when do people have nightmares? I'll tell you when. They have them when they sleep. How can he comfort her if he's not sleeping with her? I'll tell you how. Because they are sleeping together! That's how! It's not rocket science here." Des said.

Sarah couldn't help but laugh at her sisters remarks. "Look Des I understand what you're saying and I agree but here's the thing, why deny it? They both say they are best friends. For now that's all we have from them. Why would they want to hide a relationship?" Sarah said.

"I don't know. I don't have all the answers. That's why it's up to you to find out!" Des said.

"Uh uh I'm not going to pry into their relationship or lack of one. When Derek's ready to say something he will. You know damn well that getting anything out of him before he's ready is a mission!" Sarah protested.

"And big sister, I have faith in your abilities to complete that mission!" Des said.

"I'm glad you have faith but that's all you're going to have because I'm staying out of it." Sarah said adamantly.

"OMG what is wrong with you people. Aren't you the least bit curious? Mom won't discuss this with him either. I'd like to know that he's found someone special and that he'll be taken care of. I like her Sarah. I like who he is around her. Don't you want him to find someone?" Des asked anxiously.

"Des I agree with you. I'd love nothing more than to know that he's finally put down his wall and let someone in. From the looks of it, he has whether it's as a friend or a girlfriend. Of course I want him happy and I'd like nothing more than to know that he's put his past behind him. If it's with Penelope, great. I like her too and I agree, he's a different person around her. I too like the kinder and gentler Derek but it's none of our business until he makes it our business. Until then you'll have to suffer it out with the rest of us. " Sarah said.

"Fine." Des said with a sigh. "I see I'm not going to get any help in this area."

Sarah laughed. "Des I love the fact that you're so passionate about things but really… when they were handing out patience you were standing in the wrong line!" Sarah said giggling. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yea yea yea talk to you later Sis." Des said and hung up the phone.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Ok so I'm taking advantage of the Muse and the free time. Hope you enjoy!!!!!!

When they got into the car, Penelope turned to Derek and said "Are you really not going to tell me what you have planned?"

"Do you trust me?" Derek asked.

"You know I do Angel I'm just curious." She said.

"Ok, first we're going to go have breakfast. There's this local joint I used to go all the time when I was working the beat here in Chicago. It's not a fancy place but their food is amazing. Then… it's a surprise." He said smiling.

Penelope looked at him and smirked. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" She asked.

"You have no idea baby girl!" He said laughing.

When they reached Joe's Penelope couldn't help but notice just how many cops were there. And as they walked into the place everyone seemed to know who Derek Morgan was. They all greeted him with handshakes and hugs. They all had questions about what he had been up to and what it was like to work for the FBI. 30 Minutes had passed before they were finally seated and had ordered. Derek had introduced her to everyone along the way proceeded to fill her in on how he had met them and give her a little background on each of them. Even the owner of the café had come out to greet him when he learned he was there and had made it a point to tell the waitress that the meal was on the house. Looking from the outside in, it was almost as if the prodigal son had returned. It gave her a warm feeling to know that so many people seemed to know Derek but more importantly that so many people seemed to really like him.

When they were done with breakfast and the formal goodbye's Derek proceeded with his tour of the city. He took her by his elementary school and then his junior high school. He stopped at each one and pointed out the playgrounds he would play on and his usual hang out spots. It wasn't until they reached the High school that he got out of the car to give her a tour. The school was closed but the grounds were open and the crew that maintained those ground were working. He seemed to know them too as they all waved at him and yelled out "it's good to see you!"

One of the crew members walked up to Derek and shook his hand. "Son it's great to see you!" John was an elderly man with a slight bald spot in the center of what looked like cotton. He was slender man and quite tall. "When did you get back in town?" He asked

"We got in last night. John I'd like you to meet someone very special to me. Penelope Garcia." Derek said.

John extended his hand to Penelope and rambled on the usual nice to meet you.

"Nice to meet you too John." Penelope said with a smile.

"John do you think it would be possible for me to show Penelope the Hall?" Derek asked.

"Of course son for you anything is possible." John said as he started to walk towards the school's main entrance. "Our boy here was quite a celebrity back in the days."

"Was he now? Big man on campus huh?" Penelope said.

"That he was. There wasn't scout that hadn't visited our school just to see him play." John added.

"He's exaggerating trust me." Derek said slightly embarrassed.

When they walked into the school there were glass enclosures on both sides of the hall. They displayed pictures and trophies alongside plaques and certificates. Penelope walked towards the glass and was amazed at what she saw. The majority of what was in the enclosures were all belonging in some way to Derek. They either had Derek's name on them or team pictures with Derek in them. The plaques were all awards for county wide, statewide and nationwide awards. All either for Derek as MVP or the school team under his leadership.

"Wow this is all you?" Penelope asked amazed by the display.

"There are records that still haven't been broken to this day." John added.

Just then Penelope caught a glimpse of a picture taken in Derek's senior year in his football uniform. She couldn't help but think to herself that he was just as gorgeous back then. "There's no denying that smile baby." She said.

"That smile made him very popular with the girls back then." John said.

"It still does." Penelope said smiling. "Only now the affect is stronger." She said as she continued to walk down the hall and look at the rest of the display.

John looked over at Derek and leaned in to whisper "she you're number 1 these days?"

"I'm working on it man. I'm hoping she will be." Derek said.

"Wow she's got you working it huh? Must be keeper." John added.

"You have no idea." Derek said and smiled. "Hey Baby come on, there's more I want show you. And with that Derek turned to John and thanked him for opening up the school.

"No problem son, it's great seeing you. And ummm good luck." John said.

Derek and Penelope got back into the car and drove for several hours making the occasional pit stop when they were able to walk around or go inside a building that held a special meaning to Derek. She got to see where he played football pre youth center days and where he would hang out with his friends. She even got to see where he gave his first kiss. He drove her past the precinct he used to work at and by the academy he trained at. By the end of the tour she was well versed in his hangouts. At every stop they made he'd introduce her to somebody and she'd get a little history on Derek Morgan from their point of view. At one point she was convinced there was nobody in the city that didn't know Derek. "It must be nice to be so well regarded." She said.

"Back then everyone watched out for everyone's kids. It was the thing to do. Most of the folks really knew my Mom and especially my Dad. He was a cop on these streets so his friendships trickled down to us." Derek said. "You hungry?" He asked.

Penelope nodded. "Just a little."

"Ok let's pick up some food and I'll take you somewhere special where we can eat it." He said.

They drove for almost an hour after picking up lunch until they reached Lake Shore Park. Penelope was so excited. This is beautiful!

"We'll have a picnic lunch here and enjoy the view for a bit before we head to the next surprise." Derek said.

They sat on the grass and ate lunch as they chatted away about all the things she had learned on her tour. "I knew you were a quarter back in high school, I just didn't realize you were such a star." She said.

"I wasn't really. I played for a really good team. They all had so much talent." He said playing down his part.

"That's not the story the hall tells." Penelope teased.

"It wouldn't have mattered how good I was if the team wasn't better. It's never about one person. We all play together." Derek said.

"Kind of like the BAU?" She asked subtly.

Derek chuckled. He had caught on to her reference and simply nodded.

"Speaking of which, there's something I've been meaning to say. I'm really sorry Derek." She said.

"What do you have to be sorry about?" He asked puzzled.

"I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. It wasn't really you I was mad at in the first place; I just took it out on you." She said.

"Baby, there's nothing for you to apologize for. Hotch was right I should never have gone solo and I shouldn't have kept you on the line during that ordeal." Derek explained.

"No Baby he wasn't right. You didn't really have a choice and honestly had you guys had all the time in the world it would have been you that he'd send to try and disarm it. The point is I couldn't separate my feelings from my responsibilities and I'm sorry." Penelope went on.

Derek caught on to the last line she said and was about to question her on her on her feelings when Penelope's cell rang. She looked at the display and signed. "I have to take this, I'm sorry, it's Kevin." She said.

Derek's heart sank. He finally had the opportunity to start up a conversation with Penelope about feelings and Kevin had to call_. "Where are you going with this Derek? You need to back off if there's so much as a chance that her relationship with Kevin is still a possibility."_ He thought to himself. He was a bit surprised that Penelope took the call but didn't walk away for some privacy.

"No Kevin I'm not in town. I'm in Chicago." She said.

"_With Derek?"_ Kevin asked.

"Yes with Derek. What do you need?" She asked sounding a bit annoyed.

"_We need to talk about things Pen. I miss you I want us to work."_ He pleaded.

"Kevin, we agreed to take a break. I need time." Penelope said.

"_How much time? Don't you miss me?"_ He asked.

"Kevin this isn't helping. I need my space." Penelope said.

Derek motioned to get up. He wanted to give her some privacy but Penelope placed a hand on his arm and shook her head.

"_You getting the space you need with HIM?"_ Kevin asked with sarcasm in his voice.

"You know what Kevin I can't do this with you anymore. Every time we talk you always fall back on the same thing. I can't deal with your insecurities or your jealousy I just won't do it." Penelope answered back, her tone very serious.

"And every time we have a problem you run to HIM. How can you and I have a relationship when he's always in the middle? It takes 2 people for have a relationship Pen not 3." He said angrily.

"Kevin I'm going to hang up now I will be home in a week and when I'm ready to discuss this with you I will call you." Penelope said firmly.

"You're spending a whole week with him? No Penelope if you want this to work between us you need to come home now and you need keep him out of our private lives. You have to work with him I understand that but that's it. You are not to have anything to do with him on your own time." Kevin said sternly.

"Kevin listen to me. I'm going to hang up now. I will be home in a week. I will NOT call you anymore and I do not want you calling me. I don't take to ultimatums and I won't have anyone telling me what I can and cannot do with my time. We're done. "Penelope said.

"You're making a huge mistake." Kevin growled.

"No I'm correcting one." Penelope said and hung up.

Derek looked at her but stayed silent. Penelope took a deep breath and looked over at Derek. "Baby I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to get that bad." She said.

"No need to apologize baby. Are you ok?" He asked placing his hand on hers.

"Strangely enough I'm more than ok. This is just something that needed to happen." She said.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked hoping the answer she gave was what he wanted to hear.

"I've never been more sure of anything. He's not going to change and quite honestly I wouldn't care if he did. He's not the man for me. I know that now." She said.

Deep down inside Derek was jumping up and down. This is what he needed to hear. He needed to be sure that there would be no ties that he would be breaking up if he were to be honest about his feelings. Their first day was almost coming to an end and he was starting to feel better about the outlook.

"Do you want to go home?" He asked.

"No baby I'm fine really. Where next?" She asked but before he could answer she said "I know, I know, it's a surprise!" And she giggled.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: thank you all for the wonderful reviews and a very special thank you to Harleyzgirl for those wonderful words of advice. I truly appreciate them!!!! I hope you enjoy this chapter ******

"There's no rush we have plenty of time." Derek said as he grabbed her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "Tell me what happened baby."

Penelope took a deep breath. For months she had been going through this with Kevin and the one person that she could talk to was the one person she had drifted apart from. All because of him; his insecurities, his jealousy, and most important his need to dominate. "Are you sure you want to hear this?" She asked.

"You're stalling." He replied raising his eyebrow and giving her a serious look.

"Kevin and I have been having problems for some time now. He had an issue with my no wait, many issues with certain things in my life. He hated that I worked long hours and he hated that I felt so connected to the team. He'd huff and puff every time one of you called me on my time off and ranted about how my time was my time and you guys needed to respect it. It got so bad I would tense up every time my cell rang. He didn't like it that I socialized with the team and he hated girl's night out. That was always a sure bet for a fight." Penelope explained.

"Why didn't you say anything to us?" Derek asked.

"At first I thought that he might be right. Not about my time off but about the time I took to be with the team or the girls because it took time away from him. But as time went on I realized that this is who I am. I wasn't doing anything wrong. You guys are family to me and it's no different than spending time with my family. But by the time I realized all these of this, things had gotten out of hand. "She said.

"Exactly how out of hand did they get Pen?" Derek asked trying to control the anger he felt building inside.

"It's not what you think Derek. He never laid a hand on me. He'd just argue and analyze everything. Every day that went by I'd lose the desire more and more to go on with the relationship. I'd make excuses not to be with him and that of course would start a fight but ultimately I got what I wanted…time alone." She said.

"I wish you had come to me with this before. I would have tried to help you know." Derek said as he started to unconsciously rub his thumb across the back of her hand.

"That would have been an even bigger problem. See as much as he disliked me spending time with the girls he absolutely hated my friendship with you. He was very insecure when it came to you Derek. He knew we were close but he always told me that I put you before him and that wasn't right. I distanced myself from you because of him. I'm so sorry I did that but I just wanted the arguments to stop. He'd always tell me that our friendship was right. _"Men and women don't talk to each other that way without there being some underlying reason." _Or _"Don't you see how disrespectful it is to me that you two flirt like that in public?" _ It was never ending. It just got so bad that I thought if I stayed away and didn't say anything that he'd change and eventually see how wrong he was." She said trying to hold back the tears that were now forming.

"If you had been honest with me about it I would have backed off. I would have done anything you needed me to do to make things right for you." Derek said as he reached for her face to wipe away the single tear that had escaped and rolled down her cheek.

Penelope closed her eyes and gently leaned into his hand. "It was a mistake and I know that now." She said. "I was losing myself in this relationship. I was becoming someone I'm not. I've always been independent and head strong. If I firmly believed in something I fought for it and here I was giving up my beliefs so that I could have some peace. That's just not me. I didn't like who I'd become. You know when I realized that this just wasn't right?" She asked but before he could answer she continued. "The day before yesterday when I picked up Pizza. I knew what you'd like to eat, what your favorite restaurant was to get it from and how you liked it." She said.

"Baby girl I'm trying to follow your thought pattern here but I'm having a hard time." Derek said.

Penelope couldn't help but giggle. "My point is I know your favorite restaurants, I know your favorite foods I even know when Clooney needs to get his next set of shots. I thought about this and realized that I didn't even know if Kevin liked Italian food much less which his favorite restaurant was. THAT was my reality check!" She explained.

Derek just wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her. He wanted to make things right for her. Seeing her cry was tearing him apart but he knew now just wasn't the time. Not with everything she had going on. "Pen are you sure that you can't work things out?" He asked knowing damn well that he might not like the answer.

Penelope thought about this for a bit trying to get the right words to explain how she felt. "This is going to sound silly so don't laugh at me." She said.

"I'd never do that you know that." He said seriously.

"You know how when you're a little girl ok well you don't know but when you're a little girl you reach a certain age where you've already got your wedding planned out in your head. You know what the dress will be like, you know the colors you want and the theme you'll have. In your mind you can visualize it all coming together and as you get older some of the details might change but overall it's pretty much what you pictured as a little girl. There has only been one man that has made me think about that wedding I planned out so many years ago and that man wasn't Kevin. As a matter of fact I can't imagine myself married to him. So to answer your question, no there isn't anything to work out here. He's a nice guy but he's not THE guy for me. I know that for sure." She said.

"Who was the guy that made you think of the wedding?" Derek asked feeling somewhat envious that someone could stir those feelings in his baby girl.

"That's not important really, what's important right now is that Kevin wasn't the guy." She said not willing to admit that the guy was Derek. She placed her hands on the grass behind her and leaned back. "You know, not that I'm changing the subject here but you never told me the significance of this park." She said.

Derek looked around the park and smiled. "When I was little, my parents would bring us here. We'd spend the day playing ball and having a BBQ over there." He pointed out a section of the park with picnic tables and small BBQ stands. "My dad and I would play catch for hour's right over there." He said as he pointed towards the edge of the water. "You know that picture in my room with my dad and me holding baseball mitts?" He asked.

It was then that Penelope realized where she was. "You took that picture under that tree over there. I recognize the buildings behind it." She said.

Derek smiled and nodded. "Yea that was the last time Dad and I got to play. He died a few weeks after that. "

Penelope noticed the expression on his face change. She knew he still struggled with his father's death and she knew that talking about him was still not an easy thing for Derek to do. "I'm sorry it's still so hard for you to talk about him." Penelope said.

"I think that's something that will always be rough but it's getting easier." He said. "I was thinking about going to the cemetery tomorrow and I thought you might like to join me." He said.

"If it's ok with you I'd love to come." She said.

Derek nodded and smiled. Just then a man in uniform wearing a hat walked over to them.

"Agent Morgan?" The man asked.

Derek looked and acknowledged the man then looked over at Penelope and said "Ok ready for your next surprise?"

As Penelope looked back she saw a long black limousine and was surprised. "Derek I'm not dressed for anything that is going to require a limo." She said.

"Baby girl trust me." Derek said and smiled. He stood up and extended his hand to help Penelope up, placing his hand on the small of her back he lead her to the limo and helped her in. Once inside and settled, the driver gave them an estimated ride time and then pulled up the privacy window.

Penelope turned to Derek and said "This day has been incredible. Thank you."

"It's not over yet Baby girl there is still one more surprise in store for you." He said with a wink.

"You're going to spoil me you know." She said and flashed him her smile.

"That is the plan." He said and kissed her temple.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thx for the wonderful reviews. You guys have no idea how much they help. I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

When Des returned from school she found both her Mother and Sister sitting in the kitchen. "Hey what's going on?" she said.

"Hi baby how was school?" Fran asked as she got up and served Des a cup of coffee.

"Non eventful just like the Morgan information highway." Des said giving Sarah a look. "Nothing new to tell."

"For the love of god let it go!" Sarah said.

Fran couldn't help but laugh at her daughter. "Are you still harping on their relationship?" she asked.

"I just want to know is all. Wait! You said relationship! You know something Ma… spill it!" Des said as she sat down.

Fran placed the cup in front of Des and sat down. "I don't know anything and you need to leave it alone." Fran said sipping some coffee.

"Des what's really bothering you about all this." Sarah asked. "I've never seen you this way."

"Nothing is bothering me. I just don't like that he's not being upfront about things. Where are they anyway?" Des asked.

"He had plans for the day. He said they would be back late." Fran said. "And why do you say he's not being upfront? You know Derek has always been very private about things. He'll tell us what we need to know if there's anything to tell."

"You guys didn't see what I saw last night. There's a lot of this story we don't know. I just think that if he's in a relationship he'd want to share that with his family instead of keeping us outside the wall." Des said adamantly.

"Desiree you're jealous!." Sarah exclaimed.

"I am not!" Des protested.

"You're upset because you feel that you're being left out. I get it now!." Sarah said.

"You don't know what you're talking about. It has nothing to do with that. I like Penelope and I hope they are getting together. But he's different on this trip and I can't quite put my finger on it. Every time he comes he goes to the cemetery before he even gets here. He makes it a point to go to the Youth Center right away. He calls James. He's done none of these things. He has a routine he's not sticking to and you both know if anything Derek is predictable when it comes to his routines." Des said.

"How do you know he hasn't? Have you been spying on him?" Sarah asked.

"Of course not! I ran into James on my way home and he happened to mention that he didn't know Derek was in town." Des said smugly.

"Oh he just happened to mention that huh?" Sarah said sarcastically.

Des just gave Sarah another look and sighed.

"Des you just need to be patient with your brother. He's trying to work through some things. He'll come around you'll see." Fran said.

"You DO know something Ma what is it?" Sarah said.

"See!!! I told you!" Des said excitedly. "Spill it Ma!"

"How would you two like it if I went around telling all of your secrets?" Fran said taking another sip of coffee and looking at both of her daughters over the rim of the cup. Des and Sarah both instantly grabbed their cups and sipped some coffee. Neither of them willing to say another word. "I thought so." Fran added and smiled. "By the way Des, Penelope will be sleeping in Derek's room tonight. She has the same nightmares that Derek has and she was afraid to wake you. I think she was a little embarrassed so please do not make a fuss about it."

"Why would I make a fuss about it? It's just two "friends" helping each other out right?" Des said the sarcasm in her voice clear.

"How old are you?" Sarah said getting a little annoyed with Des' reaction.

"Stop it you two. Derek has always been very supportive of you both and I fully expect you to do the same for him. Now Desiree I understand your feelings but you will have to trust your brother and let it go. This week is not about us it's about him." Fran said.

"Yes ma." Desiree said. "I'm sorry."

"Me too Ma. I guess we're so used to it being just the three musketeers that anything that threatens to change that is hard to accept." Sarah said.

"You three have always had a very special relationship and that's not going to change. It didn't when you got married Sarah and it won't if anything develops with Penelope. " Fran said. "Now let's get dinner ready."

As the Limo drove around, Penelope took in the sites. She was amazed at the beauty of the Chicago skyline. The calmness of the water and the reflection of the now orange sky as the sun began to set. The ride was quiet as they both reflected on the day and their conversations. Penelope felt relieved that she was finally able to open up to Derek about Kevin. She had missed their closeness and her ability to tell him anything. She felt the weight of the world had been lifted from shoulders and that she had been given a second chance with her best friend. He was definitely the man of her dreams but she knew that he would always be at arm's length. She was willing to accept that. Having him at arm's length was better than not having him at all.

Derek on the other hand knew he wanted more. He was glad that she had taken the step to break it off with Kevin and even happier that she had confided in him about the relationship. As much as he hated hearing about it, he was glad that she knew it was over and was sure about it. More than ever he was adamant about not letting this chance get away. He had taken a back seat to Kevin but never again. He was in love her and he was going to show her. There was no way he was going to let her get away again.

The Limo pulled up and stopped in front of the docks. The limo driver opened up the door for them to step out and Derek, who was the first to get out extended his hand to grab Penelope's and help her. Once out of the car however, he didn't release her hand but instead guided her down the dock towards one of the slips. They stopped in front of a yacht that was appropriately named One to Remember. The Captain came out to greet them and it was obvious to Penelope that this was yet another person from Derek's past. After the usual greeting Derek introduced Penelope to Captain Luke. Captain Luke had been a football buddy of Derek's since his Junior High days and his partner in crime. After high school Luke had joined the Marine's and after retiring and a making a few successful investments, he had purchased a boat rental company that was very successful.

Penelope was admiring the Yacht when Luke had offered to give her a tour. Once onboard Penelope was amazed at what she saw. There was an inside cabin with all of the amenities of a home. A small kitchen, a living room, a bathroom and a bedroom. The cabin was completely air conditioned and had a spiral staircase that led up to a second level open balcony. Once there she saw a bar to the corner and a table completely set for two. A waiter appeared with a tray and two glasses filled with champagne. He offered the glasses to Penelope and Derek and announced that dinner would be served within the hour.

"I can't believe you did this." Penelope said still amazed by what she was seeing.

Derek smiled at her and leaned in to place a kiss on her temple. "I'm glad you like it baby."

"Like it? OMG Derek I don't know what to say?" She said.

"We'll be leaving the slip in 5 minutes, I'll leave you two for now. Just let us know if there is anything you need." Captain Luke said as he walked away.

"I hope you don't mind but I thought that if we ate out here we'd be able to enjoy the sunset more. I can have them set it up inside if you prefer though." Derek said.

"Angel this is perfect." She said as she walked towards the railing. The yacht started to pull out of its slip slowly and she watched as the dock started to pull away. Derek came up behind her his body barely up against hers, _"Does he even know what he does to me?"_ She thought to herself.

"This day has been amazing Derek thank you." She said.

"It's not over yet baby." He whispered.

"I can't believe you did this?" She said.

"Pen today has been all about a stroll down memory lane. I loved sharing that with you." He said as he placed his finger on her chin and raised her face he looked into her eyes and said "I thought what better way to end the night then to share something that neither of us has done. I wanted to create to a new memory one that included you and me. One that we could both look back on together." He said.

They stared into each other eyes not saying a word. Derek broke the silence by lifting his glass to hers and saying "Here's to the new memories still to come."

Penelope couldn't help but smile as she took a sip of the champagne. Her thoughts going wild in her head. Something felt different. Not bad different but good different. Something was changing and for the first time in her life she wasn't going to resist it.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews!! They really mean so much to me! (Muse thanks you too!) I'd like to wish you all a very happy 4****th****!!!! I hope you enjoy this update!!!**

An hour after leaving the dock, the yacht slowed down to almost a crawl. Just as promised the waiter came out with dinner for two. Derek and Penelope walked over to the table and Derek pulled out her chair so she could sit. Pushing the chair back in, he kissed the top of her head and then sat down. The night was perfect. There was just enough breeze to keep them cool and the colors in the sky were so radiant. They finished dinner just in time to watch the sunset.

"My god it's so beautiful." Penelope said in awe of the colors.

"Yes it is." Derek replied never taking his eyes off of her.

Penelope noticed that Derek was staring at her and she felt herself begin to blush. She had caught him staring at her several times that day and each time she simply chalked it off to his being a little out of sorts. Truth was she wanted to believe that something was changing between them but she knew better. Things like that only happened in her fantasy world not the real world.

"Baby care to share what's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Derek said.

"Huh? Oh I was just thinking about today and how amazing it was." She said. There was no way she was going to share her thoughts right now.

Derek stood up and grabbed her hand, music could be heard playing in the background and there was no way he was going to pass up the opportunity of holding her in his arms close to him. "Dance with me." He said.

Penelope followed his lead and as they neared the center he wrapped his arm around her pulling her close to him. Placing his hand on the small of her back he wrapped his other hand around hers and brought it close to his heart. Penelope closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. It was all so perfect. The sun had set and the only light they had was now moonlight. Penelope wasn't sure if it was the fact that their bodies were so close or the fact that his face was snuggled up against her neck and he was singing the words to Barry White's The Secret Garden in her ear but whatever it was she was having a hard time keeping it together. She had played this scene out in her head so many times that she wasn't even sure if she was living it or this was simply a dream she would soon be woken up from.

They danced for a while neither of them wanting to let go. Derek had been waiting for the right moment to open up to her and let her know how much she meant to him. He wanted everything to be perfect and right now it was. Holding her felt so right. He had never felt anything like this before. His heart felt as if It was about to jump out of his chest. Just then the engines revved up and the yacht began to turn slowly as it headed back towards land.

Derek pulled back a little and looked into her eyes. _"It's now or never Morgan. This is your chance."_ He thought to himself.

"Everything ok?" Penelope asked as he continued to look at her without speaking.

"Better than ok baby. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to say what I want to say." He said as he reached up with his hand and gently caressed her cheek.

Penelope looked up at him slightly confused. "Why don't you start at the beginning?" She said timidly. She wasn't sure what was happening. Part of her could feel that something had changed between them but her more sensible side kept telling her that he was simply being swept up by the ambiance of the night.

Derek took a deep breath and thought about the words he wanted to say. "When we first met I knew there was something different about you. I had this uncontrollable need to get to you know you better. As time went by we became friends, best friends even but deep down I knew there was more to us than that, I was just too scared to pursue it." He said.

Penelope pulled away from Derek and started to walk back towards the rail. Her mind swirling with so many thoughts it was confusing. Derek was determined to finish telling her. He knew if he didn't say it now he never would. He walked over to her and stood behind her. Placing a hand on either side of her he held on to the rails as he leaned in towards her and continued his confession.

"Do you remember that morning you told me about meeting Battle in the coffee shop?" He asked.

Penelope simply nodded.

"It wasn't about profiling that morning. It was fear. I realized as you told me the story that there was a distinct possibly that I was going to lose you to someone else. When you were shot my whole world came tumbling down. I thought I was going to lose you and I wanted to make things right once and for all. I wanted to tell you how I felt but the time just wasn't right. I thought you needed time to heal and I was going to give that to you. But then Lynch came into the picture and my fears were realized. Do you have any idea what it was like to sit back and watch someone else call you baby? To stand by and watch him kiss you or worst yet take you home? I'd lay in bed at nights and all I could think about was the fact that someone other than me was holding you, that I had lost my window of opportunity and it damn near killed me." He said.

Penelope now had tears in her eyes and as she slowly turned in his arms to look at him. She could see the emotion and angst in his face and all she wanted to do was make it go away. "Derek." She said but was quickly interrupted by him as he placed a finger against her lips.

"Please Pen, let me finish. I have so much I want to say. I've been miserable. Your relationship with Lynch was pulling us apart and for the first time in my life I was jealous. I didn't know how to handle it. There was an edge to everything I said and did. I threw myself into the work but my head didn't follow. I became aggressive and in turn that made me reckless. NY was the final straw. When I pulled that ambulance out of the garage I didn't think I'd make it. In fact I was sure I wouldn't. It didn't matter though because your voice was in my head. Your voice would be the last thing I heard and that was enough for me. But coming out of that and realizing that in the process I alienated you even more was enough to drive me into this dark place that I didn't recognize. Not seeing you at the hospital was my undoing. I was angry and I was hurt. I just didn't care anymore because everything that meant **anything** to me was gone." Derek said. He had to stop and gain control of his emotions before he continued. Opening up to her was so much harder than he had imagined because it meant tearing down those final walls he had around him and leaving himself completely vulnerable to her.

Penelope had stopped trying to wipe her tears away. It was almost as if someone had just opened the flood gates and she had no control of what was happening. She had fantasized about them getting together for more years then she cared to count but never in those fantasies had Derek said anything close to what he was saying now. Penelope placed her hands on Derek's face and felt him lean in to her touch. "I was there Baby. I sat in the waiting room until I knew you were ok. I was afraid you were mad at me and didn't have the courage to walk in. I left as soon as I knew you were being released." She said through tears.

He leaned his forehead against hers placing his hands over hers he entwined their fingers together and continued. "I thought you were happy and I didn't want to ruin that. I walked away thinking that it was for the best. Had I known that you were going through all of that pain I would never have left you alone. Please believe that." He said.

"Shhhh you had no way of knowing. I guess we're both guilty of not being honest and upfront with each other." She said.

"Baby girl I love you. I want tonight to be the first of many memories we make together." Derek said and placed his finger under chin to lift her face. "I want to be the man that can make you think about that wedding you planned years ago and make it happen. Please tell me I still stand a chance." He said as he looked straight into her eyes.

Penelope wrapped her arms around Derek's neck and smiled. He was the love of her life. The one and only man that she had given her heart to completely and unconditionally. "Derek I have loved you for a very long time. I gave you my heart a very long time ago and I never took it back. I couldn't. I just never thought that this would really happen. I wished it and I dreamed about it but I always felt that it was beyond my reach. "Penelope said with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I need to hear it baby, I need for you to make it real." Derek pleaded.

"I'm in love with you Derek Morgan, heart, mind, body and soul." Penelope said.

Derek smiled at her and pulled her close to him. He leaned towards her and kissed her gently at first but the passion that had been pent up between them soon exploded and the kiss deepened. When they finally came up for air they noticed they were minutes from the slip. Derek pulled her close to him again and held her close. "I'm not letting go this time." He said.

"Derek?" Penelope said.

"Yea baby?" He replied.

"If I wake up and find this was all a dream, I'm going to be really pissed!" she said and smiled.

"It is a dream sweetheart. It's my dream come true." He said as he leaned in to kiss her again.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you very much for all of your reviews. I am so surprised at the wonderful reaction you all have had to this story. I'm trying to update it often but work is now starting to pick up again and life is getting hectic. Thank you so much for your patience and thanks for sticking to it!!! I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

Penelope and Derek were so busy kissing they hadn't noticed that the yacht had docked. It wasn't until Captain Luke coughed and got their attention that they even knew he was there.

Penelope jumped and stepped away from Derek. "Captain Luke, excuse us we didn't realize you were there." She said embarrassed that he had walked in on them.

"Call me Luke and it's ok, it's always nice to see two people in love. Did you both enjoy yourselves?" He said and smiled.

Derek and Penelope looked each other and smiled and as if planned answered in unison "Very much!" It was Derek that initiated their goodbye as he extended his hand towards Captain Luke and pulled him into a hug. "I don't know how to thank you my man you pulled through for me in a big way." Derek said.

"No thanks required, let's just say my family owes you this and more."

"Let's say we call it even. Give my love to your Mom and tell your baby brother to give me a call, I'd love to talk to him and catch up." Derek said.

Captain Luke turned to Penelope and leaned in to kiss her cheek. As he pulled away he smiled at her and said "I know you and I don't know each other but I know one thing for sure, you must be a very special lady because I never thought I'd see this man fall hook, line and sinker."

"And THERE goes any advantage I might have had." Derek said jokingly.

"Aww hot stuff, that advantage was just a figment of your imagination. Remember that the Oracle of all things living and non living is always a step ahead of you." She said and grinned.

"And I'm going to make sure it stays that way, after all I love the view." He said and winked at her.

They all laughed and said their good byes as Derek and Penelope walked towards the Limo that was once again waiting for them. Once inside Derek wrapped his hand around Penelope's lifting it to his lips, he placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

"Derek I've had an amazing day. Thank you." Penelope said.

"Baby when I put this all together, I wanted something that you and I could look back on and talk about years down the road as if it had happened yesterday. I realize though that years from now what I'm going to remember vividly and with detail is the moment you told me you loved me because to me, that over shadows everything." Derek said.

They both looked into each other's eyes and didn't say a word for the rest of ride. For the first time in their lives, there were no walls, no reservations and no doubts. When the limo stopped and the driver once again opened the door for them, Derek stepped out and once again helped Penelope out of the car. Derek thanked the driver and guided Penelope towards their car. Once inside he grabbed her hand once again before starting their drive home.

"Derek we're going to have to talk to Hotch and let him know. We need to make sure this is ok." She said.

"I'm sure Hotch isn't going to have a problem but yes, I'll talk to him tomorrow. We need to tell my family too. Are you ready for that?" He said.

"Derek, just yesterday your sister asked me if we were dating and I told her that you and I were just friends. She's going to think that I was lying to her." Penelope said worried.

"I'll talk to Des. She'll understand. I guess I should have given her a heads up, but I wasn't sure how you felt or where this would lead." Derek said.

"You do realize that once we tell them, we can't sleep together." She said. "I wouldn't want them thinking something was going on."

"Baby I'm sure they wouldn't think that but I understand and love that you feel that way. I can sleep on the couch. I can still hear you and I'll be there if you need me." He said.

Penelope smiled. "Thank you"

They had arrived at his mother's house and had parked the car down the block. As they walked towards the house Derek quickly grabbed Penelope and puller her close to him. "I want to taste those lips before we walk back into reality. " He said as he kissed her.

Just then, Des who had been anxious for their arrival had looked out the window. Fran heard a squeal and she quickly ran out to the living room. "What happened?' Fran asked.

"I told you! I knew it! They've been hiding it. Look at them. THAT is not how best friends act." Des said to her mother.

Fran smiled as she saw what her daughter had seen. "Leave it alone Desiree, your brother will tell you in his own time. Just be happy that you're seeing what you see." Fran said.

"How can you be so calm about it? Doesn't it bother you that he's not sharing this part of his life with you?" Des asked.

"Baby, Derek and I have talked and once he talks to you, you will understand. You need to be patient honey, trust your relationship with your brother and trust him." Fran said.

"Like I have a choice." Des said and walked towards her room.

Fran rolled her eyes. "What am I going to do with that child?" She said to herself as she took another peek out the window and smiled.

Derek and Penelope walked into the house and found Fran sitting on the couch reading a magazine. "Welcome home." She said as they closed the door. "How did your day go?"

"We had a great time." Derek said as he smiled and looked at Penelope.

"Amazing." Penelope said as she looked at Derek.

Fran smiled. They both had that glow that was undeniable. "Did you two eat?" She asked.

"Yes we did. Thank you." Penelope said. "If you'll excuse me, I need to use the little girl's room." This was all new to her and she wasn't sure if Derek wanted some one on one time to tell his mother or not but she figured this way she'd give him the space if needed it.

When Penelope left the room, Fran looked up at her son and said "so?"

Derek smiled and she knew the things had gone well. Not that she needed the confirmation after seeing what she saw, but it was nice to see his smile of confirmation.

"Ma I'm really happy." He said with a smile so big that it lit up the room.

"And I'm happy for you baby. You need to talk to Des though I think she's feeling a little left out." Fran said.

Derek understood. Des was extremely high maintenance when it came to her relationship with her brother and he knew he'd have a lot of explaining to do. "I'll go talk to her now." He said as he headed towards her room.

"Derek?" Fran called out.

"Yea Ma?" He said.

"I'll expect full details from the both of you tomorrow morning." She said smiling.

Derek nodded. "We'll tell you everything tomorrow Ma, I promise." He said and knocked on Desiree's door. When he heard her yell out to come in he looked back at his mother and said "wish me luck."

"Good luck! You'll need it." Fran said and laughed.

Desiree was already in bed when Derek walked in. As she looked up at him he saw that she had been crying and he realized he'd be apologizing for a long time. "Hey kiddo what do you say we have one of our famous chats." He said as he sat on her bed.

Before Des could say anything Derek had picked up a picture frame that was on Des' nightstand. It was picture of the three of them taken the day Derek had been accepted by the BAU. "I love this picture." He said.

"Yea me too. I miss those times." She said as she took the picture and traced the outline of the frame.

"Des I know your upset with me and I'm sorry if you think I've been distant." He said. "It's not what you think though."

"What is it then Derek? I see the changes in you and I sense you're not telling me things. I feel like we're drifting." She said holding back the tears.

"Sweetheart you are still and always will be one of the most important people in my life. You will always be one of my priorities. I've just been dealing with some inner demons lately. Look I know that you and I have always discussed things so before you go getting mad at me, let me explain my reasons and hopefully you'll understand. It's really important to me that you know the whole story." He said and went on to explain all about Penelope getting shot, his realization of his feelings and his battle with those feelings. He told her about NY and how things came to light and finally about his plans and his insecurity about those plans. She listened to him and when he done she hugged him.

"I would have helped you know." She said. "I like Penelope and I like who you are when you're around her."

Derek smiled. As tough as Desiree could be he always knew she'd be in his corner. "I know you would have helped me kiddo but I really needed to do this one on my own. " He said.

Desiree looked at the picture once again and then back at Derek. "So did you screw it up?" She said smiling.

"What do you think?" He said.

"Well if that smile is any indication I guess you didn't." She said and then wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.


	13. Chapter 13

When Penelope came back to the living room she noticed that Derek was gone and Fran was sitting on the couch staring into space. "Is everything alright? Where's Derek?" Penelope asked.

Fran turned to look at Penelope and smiled. "Everything is better than fine. Derek's in Des' room trying to smooth things out." She said.

"I see he's told you already. I hope Des isn't too upset at him." Penelope said as she walked over to the couch and sat down beside Fran.

"I'm sure they'll work things out. They always do. She's not upset at you Penelope. She's not really upset at Derek. I think she's just feeling a little bit of the green monster." Fran said and gently patted Penelope's hand. "My kids have always been very close but Derek and Des have this special connection. When my husband died Desiree was very young. Things as you can imagine were very different for us from that point on and I wasn't myself for a bit. It was Derek that Desiree started to turn to and it never changed after that. He was security blanket. I guess she's just a little scared that the security blanket is going away." Fran explained.

Just then Derek and Desiree walked out of her room, Derek's arm around his baby sister and both of them smiling. "What are you two up to?" Derek said.

"We were just discussing my favorite subject." Penelope said with a grin.

"Maybe I should stick around for this." Derek teased.

"Too late my vision, we're done." Penelope said as they all laughed.

They all talked for a bit before Fran and Des both excused themselves to go to bed. Penelope and Derek had gone into Derek's room and gathered up a pillow and some sheets and a blanket to set up Derek's bed on the couch.

"Baby Des is going to meet up with us tomorrow at the Youth Center is that ok?" Derek asked.

"Of course it's ok. I'm looking forward to spending some time with her and Sarah. I'd like to get to know them better. Did your talk with her go ok?" Penelope asked as she helped Derek with his bed.

"Yea we're good. She felt I was putting some distance between us by not telling her. I explained everything to her and she understood. In fact she made me promise not to screw this up." He said as he patted the pillow he had just placed on the couch and then reached over and grabbed Penelope in his arms. "I told her there was no way I was going to screw this up and that you were the best thing that had ever happened to me."

Penelope wrapped her arms around Derek's neck and smiled. "I think it's safe to say that this is the best thing that's ever happened to US." She said as she reached up and kissed him.

"You do realize it's late?" Derek said his forehead now resting on hers.

"Yea I do, but I'm having a hard time letting you go." She said.

"Baby when we get back home we'll have a lifetime of holding each other, but right now you're killing me. I'm having a hard time controlling myself." He said and grinned.

Penelope smiled and pulled away. "Ok Angel but just you wait till we get home."

"I'm counting the minutes. Now scoot, go to bed." He said and smiled.

Penelope walked to Derek's room but before closing the door she looked back and caught him staring at her. "Good night baby, I love you." She said.

"Good night princess, I love you too." He replied.

That night Penelope had no nightmares. She had gone to sleep thinking about the events of the day and those continued with her as she slept. The following morning Fran was the first to wake up and was surprised to find Derek on the couch. She gently shook Derek to wake him.

"Good morning Ma." He said huskily.

"Baby why are you on the couch? Is something wrong?" She asked with concern in her voice.

"Ma everything is fine. Penelope didn't feel it would be right for us to sleep together now that we couldn't say we were just friends. She felt it would be disrespectful." Derek explained.

Fran smiled at her son. "It would have been ok." She said.

"I know Ma but she was very adamant. She slept through the night though so it's ok." Derek said as he got up and started to fold the blanket and sheets to put them away.

"Are you guys going to have breakfast?" Fran asked.

"Yea as soon as I'm done here I'll go shower and get Pen up." He said.

While Fran prepared for the breakfast, Derek had showered and walked into the room to wake Penelope up. She was still sleeping and stood there watching her for a few minutes. He went over to the bed and leaned over to kiss her gently and whispered "Good Morning baby girl time to get up and make some more memories."

"Mmmm" she moaned as she turned over to look up at him.

"Mom's getting breakfast ready." He said.

"Do I have time for a quick shower?" She asked.

"Sure do, there are fresh towels in the bathroom. We'll wait for you to finish." He said as he kissed her again and then left the room.

Back in the kitchen Fran was still preparing breakfast and talking to Desiree who had just gotten up. Once Penelope had showered she joined them and the four of them talked and made plans for the day. Derek and Penelope would be going to the cemetery first and would meet up with Desiree at the Youth Center. Fran would be going to church and she had agreed to meet up with all of them. After eating, the dishes were cleaned and put away and all of them got ready to leave.

"I'll call Sarah and see if she's up to meeting up with us too. I'd love to see the kids." Derek said.

"I'm sure she'd love to. Have you called James yet?" Fran asked.

"No not yet Ma, I'll call him now from the car. " Derek said as he grabbed Penelope's hand and gestured towards the door. "Ready to go?"

"Lead the way my prince and I will follow." Penelope said and smiled. "See you all in a little bit."

When they got into the car Derek called Sarah and made plans for that afternoon. He then called James and invited him to meet up at the Center. "I'll see you there then later this afternoon?" He asked.

"_I'll be there right after school."_ James said.

"Great" he said and smiled as he reached over to grab Penelope's hand. "This way you can meet my girlfriend." Derek said.

Penelope looked back at Derek and smiled. This was the first time he'd called her that and she had to admit, the butterflies that started to stir in her stomach felt more like bats. She still couldn't believe how fast everything was happening. She had fantasized about him for so many years but never believed that any of those thoughts she had would actually happen. She was almost afraid to allow herself to be so happy but one look at this man's eyes and she knew that nothing in her life had ever come close to feeling so right.

The drive to the cemetery was quick and as they parked Penelope couldn't help but notice the beautiful landscape. It was an old cemetery but very well maintained. As they walked towards the large oak tree on the far right Penelope couldn't help but think about her own parents and the loss she too had at a young age. She missed them all the time, but it was during the important events of her life that she wished she could share with them that the loss seemed so much more significant. When they reached the large tree, Derek stopped and pointed out the grave directly below it. "This is where Dad is now." He said.

Penelope looked down at the grave site and noticed how polished the stone was and all the fresh flowers around it. On the memorial stone she saw a picture of his Dad and couldn't help but think just how much Derek looked like his dad. Derek stood by in silence and she could tell he was lost in thought. Her heart ached for him knowing full well what it was like to lose a parent and knowing that the feelings of that loss never went away. She squeezed his hand gently but didn't say a word. The gesture was enough for him to know that she understood and she was there for him.

They stood at the grave site for a little while. Derek lost in thought as he played memories of his dad over and over in his mind. "Do you every think about having one last conversation with your Mom?" Derek asked his voice deep and raspy.

"All the time in fact I talk to her a lot. It's comforting in a way." Penelope said as she looked up at him.

"Do you think she hears you?" Derek said as he looked back at her.

Penelope smiled. "I know she does. They never leave us baby not as long as we carry them in our hearts." She said.

Looking back at his father's grave Derek nodded. "I watch my mom when we come and it tears me up to see how much she still hurts. They loved each other so much. Things were never easy for them but they didn't let it stop them from being together." He said. "She gave up everything to be with him and never looked back. I asked her once if anyone in her family had ever tried to contact her and she said her father called her a few days after dad died but she refused to speak to him."

"Did you ever meet them?" Penelope asked.

"No they never acknowledged us as their grand kids." Derek said sadly.

"So Nana is your Dad's mom?" Penelope asked.

"Yea my Dad's family was always very much a part of our family. My mom always said that they gave her enough love and support to fill the gap left of her own family. In fact she called Nana mom." Derek said.

"Do you think your mom regrets any of her decisions?" Penelope asked.

Derek smiled. "I know she doesn't. Her love for my dad and his love for her was incredible." He said as he turned to face Penelope he wrapped her in his arms and looked lovingly into her eyes. "Like mine for you. I know that no matter what happens as long as you're by my side there is nothing I can't do." Derek leaned in to kiss her gently.

"Ditto." She said and smiled.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews. I love that you are all sticking by me on this story and that you're actually enjoying it. I'm having a lot of fun writing it. Here's another update and I hope you all enjoy. Please don't forget to review because it really makes my day. **

They stood by his Dad's grave for a bit and then headed towards the center of the cemetery. As they approached an open area Penelope immediately knew he was taking her to visit the graves of the two young men that had lost their lives at the hands of Carl Buford. As they stood by the graves Derek closed his eyes and she could tell he was trying hard to control his emotions. She gently squeezed his hand but remained quiet as she knew there was nothing she could say that would help with the inner battle he still struggled with.

"I ask myself everyday how things might have been different had I spoken up about Carl and what he was doing. I can't help but wonder if they would still be alive today if I had said something." He said.

"Derek, you didn't do this, he did. You were just a little boy." Penelope said.

"So were they Penelope but I'm still here and they aren't." He said.

"You say that as if you don't believe you deserve to be." Penelope said challenging his response.

"Baby girl you don't understand." He said but he cut him off quickly.

"You're right I don't understand and I won't pretend to. Nobody knows what you went through and nobody could understand the feelings you have because we weren't there and we didn't go through it. The fact is you didn't kill these boys HE did. Look at James! You saved him Derek! Because of you that boy has a future to look forward to. THAT'S what you need to focus on. You of all people know that you can't save them all but if you manage to save just one then you call it a good day. How many children was he hurting? Because of you he can't hurt them anymore. YOU did that." Penelope said as she reached up and grabbed his face gently rubbing her thumb against his moist cheek. "You are who you are today not because of what he did but in spite of it. He tried to break you back then and couldn't, please don't let him win now. You need to remember that James and all the boys that found the courage to speak against Buford during his trial did it because of you." She said.

Derek nodded. Unable to speak for fear of losing the little control he was trying to hold on to he wrapped his arms around Penelope and held on tight. Penelope leaned her head against his chest and rubbed tiny circles on his back. After a few minutes Derek placed his hand under Penelope's cheek and lifted her face looking into her eyes he whispered "I love you."

Penelope smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you too but if you ever go down that dark road again I'm going to kick your ass." She said and grinned. Derek couldn't help but chuckle.

"You know somehow I believe you would too." He said as he wrapped his arms around her and started to guide her towards the car.

"Never doubt my abilities Angel." She said "A woman in love has no limits."

As they drove to the youth center, they discussed how they would tell the team about the latest developments in their relationship. They both knew that it would take Rossi talking to Strauss in order to get any sort of leeway for their relationship but it was Hotch they needed to inform first.

"I'd rather talk to him in person though." Penelope said.

"Yea me too, we can leave on Friday instead of Sunday and this way we'll have the week end to tell the team too." Derek said.

When they arrived at the center, Sarah, Fran and Desiree were outside. They had been watching the kids play in the playground and catching up on Derek and Penelope. As soon as Derek closed the car door, the twins both noticed him and ran towards him squealing.

"Uncle Derek you're here!!!!!!" They said in unison as they both jumped on up against him.

Derek picked them both up, one on each arm and they hugged him. "When did you get here Uncle Derek? Are you staying long? Can we play in the park?" Were some of the questions they both fired at him. Penelope couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "Saturday. Till Friday. YES!!!!" He said answering their questions and then burying his head against their stomachs and giving them both a raspberry.

"Uncle Derek?" Nicole said.

"Yes?" He replied as she leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Who's the pretty lady with the funny earrings?" Nicole asked.

Before answering her question, Derek put both of the twins down. "Hey you two I want you both to meet Penelope."

"Hi Penepony" Nicole said.

"Hi ." Nicolas said not able to pronounce her name and not even trying.

Penelope smiled at both of them. "Hi it's great to finally meet you both your uncle has told me so much about you." She said as she bent down and gave them each a kiss on the cheek.

Nicole reached up and touched her earrings. "These are funny earrings." She said.

"I made them would you like for me to make you a pair too. I can make them to look like any animal you like." Penelope asked.

Nicole smiled and said "I like kittens. Can you make them look like kittens?"

"I sure can. I'll make them for you and send them to your Mom ok?" Penelope said and smiled.

"Ok but tell her that they're for me ok? She likes kittens too and she might want them." Nicole said.

Penelope nodded. "Don't you worry I'll let her know that those are just for you." She said.

"Boys don't wear earrings so mom can have mine." Nicolas said. Derek and Penelope couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey what do you guys say we go over and say hello to Grammy, Aunt D and your Mom? Then after I show Penelope around we can go play for a little bit." Derek asked.

The children agreed and as they started to walk towards the girls, Nicole reached up and grabbed Penelope's hand. This made Penelope smile. She loved children and they always seemed to radiate towards her but never this quickly. When they reached the girls and had all said their hello's Derek had taken Penelope inside for a quick tour. It wasn't a very large center but once Carl Buford was put away and Derek started to help out and support the center they had managed to organize it and actually get some equipment donated. Penelope was impressed with how well kept it was too and noticed that it was being maintained by the young kids of the center. Off to the side of the center there were two offices. One of them was equipped with some desks and file cabinets while the other had a desk inside and all the storage area for the sports equipment. There was one additional room that was rather large with a few desks but didn't look as if it was used for anything other than storage.

"What's that over there?" Penelope asked.

"Right now nothing. We use it store some of the things that are in good shape but we can't use. Someday it'll have a purpose though." Derek said.

"Derek!!!" James said as he spotted then both and walked towards them.

"James!!! How you doing little man?" Derek said as he grabbed him and hugged him.

"Good. Really glad to see you. Did you get my email about college?" James asked.

Derek's face lit up as he smiled. "I sure did James and I am so proud of you. I'm sure you're mom is too." Derek said.

"Yea she was real happy especially since I got a full scholarship. It means we can all move to Virginia and still be together. I'll still have to get a job to help out but she won't have the pressure of paying for school." He said.

"That's great news man. I'm really happy for you. This also means you'll be closer to me now so we can hang out from time to time. Hey James let me introduce you to a very special person in my life, this is my girlfriend Penelope." Derek said.

James extended his hand to shake Penelope's and said "it's nice to finally meet you Penelope. Derek's always talking about you."

"Hey man!! No telling secrets out of school now." Derek protested.

They all laughed and Penelope reached over and kissed James on the cheek. "I've heard a lot about you too. All good things. He's very proud of you." Penelope said and James smiled.

They talked for a few minutes and caught up on the happenings of James' life. When James had explained that his orientation would be June, Derek had invited him to stay with him so it wouldn't cost him any money and James had agreed and thanked Derek.

"Uncle Derek" Nicole said as they all approached them. "Can we go play now?"

Derek shook James' hand and once again pulled him into a hug. "Let me go play with them for a bit or she'll drive us nuts. She's just like her mother." He said and grinned.

"Hey now I can hear you. I'm right here." Sarah said and mocked a hurt look.

"Can Penepony come too?" Nicole asked.

"It's Penelope sweetheart." Sarah corrected her.

"That's what I said Mommy. Penepony." Nicole replied and rolled her eyes at her mother.

Derek grabbed his nephew's hand and started walking towards the playground. "Come on Penepony let's go play." He said laughing.

Penelope chuckled and grabbed Nicole's hand as she followed Derek into the playground.

"Ok Mom you can stop staring at them and planning those grandbabies in your head." Desiree said.

"Hush child. Look at them. They'd be naturals." Fran said smiling.

"Did you guys get the scoop on them yet?" Sarah asked curiously.

"I did." Desiree beamed.

"You better start spilling then while we have the time." Sarah said excitedly.

"You two are exhausting you know that?" Fran said rolling her eyes.

"It's easy for you to say Ma, you already know the story." Sarah said.

"No I don't. Derek hasn't told me yet." Fran said.

"She doesn't know but I do." Desiree said as she gloated.

"How is it that you know and Ma doesn't?" Sarah asked placing her hand on her hip.

"Because my dear sister, I might not have stood in line for patience but I sure as hell double dipped on persistence." Desiree said and grinned.

Fran shook her head and smiled. "Yes you did sweetheart. You're father used to say that he would always wind up saying yes just to keep your mouth shut!"

They all laughed. "So do you want to know what happened?" Des asked.

"Uhh hello?? What do you think?" Sarah said sarcastically.

As Desiree went over the details she had gotten from Derek, Fran watched Derek and Penelope play with the kids. It wasn't surprising that her grandchildren had taken so quickly to Penelope. What did surprise her was how at ease and comfortable she seemed around them. Fran hadn't heard anything Desiree had said until the very end.

"When are you guys going to do this?" Sarah asked.

"Do what?" Fran asked confused.

"If you pay attention Ma you'd know. " Desiree said teasingly. "Derek wants me to help him pick out a ring for Penelope."

Fran's eyes widened and she got teary. "Finally." She said.

"Yea Ma he's finally letting down those walls. I'm really excited about this. I'm finally getting a sister!" Sarah said looking at Desiree and grinning.

"Hmmmf I'll remember that next time you call me and say you need a babysitter." Desiree said.

"It's ok I'll call Penepony!" Sarah said and smiled.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews ******** Here's another Chapter to a story that seems to have taken a life of its own. I never intended for it to be this long. It is coming to an end soon though. Please enjoy and review ******

Derek and Penelope had been playing in the playground with Nicole and Nicolas for over an hour. There wasn't anything on the playground they hadn't done. Fran and her daughters had gone inside the youth center and had started running inventory on the equipment and getting some of the paperwork completed that had to be filed for grants.

"Uncle Derek I'm thirsty." Nicole said.

"Yea me too." Nicolas said.

"Ok let's go inside and get some water and take a little break. Uncle Derek has some work he needs to get done too." Derek said.

"Okay but can we do this again tomorrow?" Nicolas said.

"YEA!!! I wanna do this again." Nicole said.

"We'll see" Derek said as he grabbed their hands and started to walk inside.

Once inside the center, Derek got them some bottled water and they all met up with Fran and the girls.

"How's that coming along?" Derek asked.

"Slow and painful." Des said "but we're almost done."

Penelope had gone over to where Fran and Sarah were counting equipment and joined in. After about 30 minutes of yelling out numbers they were finally done. "How often do you guys do this?" Penelope asked.

"At least once a month sometimes twice." Des said.

"You know this can all be automated." Penelope said looking at Derek. "All we need is program and maybe some barcodes."

"And who do you propose puts all that together?" Derek asked knowing damn well what the answer was going to be.

"I happen to know someone that does this kind of stuff." She said grinning.

"Sweetheart, while I truly appreciate the thought, look around here there are no computers to use it on." Derek said.

"Tsk Tsk mon cheri, such little faith in my abilities." She said as she turned around and started walking towards the door. She took her cell phone out of her purse and made a call.

"Is she serious?" Des asked. "Can she really do that and get a computer for the Center too?"

"Kiddo, I've learned not to question her in any way shape or form. Every time I think I have her figured out, she changes the rules and tosses me for a loop." Derek said smiling.

Just then James had come into the office. He was holding a duffle bag that seemed to be filled with equipment. "Here's some more to go through, it was just donated." He said.

Des sighed. "And here we thought we were done."

"Hey Derek, the boys are getting together a few players for a game of B-Ball, wanna join in?" James asked.

Derek looked over at his Mom and sisters as if asking for permission. "Go ahead baby; we know you want to play. We'll handle this." Fran said.

Penelope walked back inside about 45 minutes later. She apologized for taking so long but explained that she had made several calls. Derek too had finished his game and walked in right behind her.

"You guys will be getting a delivery sometime within the next 2 weeks. They are sending over enough computer equipment to set up a server and put some workstations with barcode readers. I'll work on the program so it's ready just in time. I will need some information from you guys like names and address of people that donate, companies that have granted funds, stuff like that. We'll sort out the details but it will all be ready in time." Penelope said.

Everyone was shocked. Everyone except Derek, he knew that once his baby girl set her mind on something, it was going to happen. "Baby, are you sure you want to take all this on?" he asked as he walked up to her.

"Of course I do, it'll be easy. We can set the workstations in here. The barcode readers are wireless so they can be used anywhere here and they'll transmit into the program. We won't have to cable anything because we'll use some wireless routers and access points. Plus... here's the best part! They'll be sending us some laptops with webcams. Baby we can set up that room over there as a classroom. With the webcams, I can give them classes a couple of nights a week or Saturdays or both!" Penelope said excited.

"Whoa baby slow down. Do you know what'll happen when we put laptops and teenagers together? I'm not sure that's such a good idea." Derek said.

"Eh eh eh! Again I have thought this through. We will have a web filter in the network so they will only be allowed to visit the sites we say they can visit. Besides, these will be used for teaching them Derek. And it's not just kids; we can open up these classes for adults too. Can you imagine how many people might benefit from this? Oh and my friends are willing to donate learning materials if we need them. I told them about the Center and what you guys do here and they were excited about the cause. "Penelope said.

Fran and the girls were jumping up and down and hugging each other. Derek stood there looking at Penelope but hadn't said a word.

"Derek are you mad? Are you upset? Did I jump the gun?" Penelope asked, concerned by his reaction.

Derek shook his head and smiled. "No baby girl I'm not mad I'm amazed." He said. "You never cease to amaze me. Thank you."

"Well don't thank me just yet. You do realize that this means that you and I get to come back in two weeks to set all this up." She said with a grin.

"Oh like spending the week-end with you is such a hard job." He said with a grin.

"Is anybody hungry?" Fran asked.

"Famished." Des said.

They all agreed. After a small discussion about dinner it had been decided that they would have a celebratory meal at Fran's house. "Ok then I'm going to scoot and get all the fixings for tonight." Fran said.

"Would you like some help?" Penelope asked.

"Sweetheart I'd love some." Fran said.

Derek walked over to Penelope to give her a kiss goodbye. "I'm going to spend a little bit of time with James and then I'll head over." He said.

"Take your time baby; this will give me a chance to get to know your Mom." She said smiling.

"You mean for my Mom to interrogate you." He said chuckling.

"You say tomato and I say tomatoe." She said with a wink.

"I love you baby girl." He said and gave her a kiss.

"Hey you two, get a room for god's sake." Des said teasing them for their display.

Penelope and Fran had stopped at the local grocery store and after buying what Penelope thought was half the store they arrived at Fran's house and started getting things ready. As they prepared to cook, Fran served them each a glass of wine. She didn't drink all that often but Fran thought tonight was definitely a night to celebrate. Her son was finally settling down with a girl she absolutely adored. Her daughters were both well and happy and her grandchildren were thriving. The news about the Center was wonderful too. She knew how important that Center was to Derek and with Penelope's help it would finally be more than just a sports hangout.

"Have I told you how happy I am about you two?" Fran said smiling.

Penelope blushed. "I was so nervous about meeting you all." She said.

"And now?" Fran asked.

"I feel like I've known you all for a very long time." Penelope said.

Fran placed her hand over Penelope's and smiled. "Sweetheart I love my son very much but I'm not blind to his faults. We all have them. But I see a different Derek this time. I see a Derek that's happy. He's open with his emotions and he's not guarded. You may not know this but we've known about you for a very long time. Every time we'd talk to Derek he would mention you. You were the amazing tech girl at work and then you became his friend. You went on to being his best friend and Clooney's baby sitter. Whenever he was sick, you were the girl that took care of him and nursed him back to health. Penelope we loved you before we met you. You had nothing to be nervous about." Fran said.

Penelope held back the tears that were threatening to roll down her cheeks. "Fran I have loved Derek for more years than I care to count. I never believed that he would feel the same about me but that didn't matter to me. I was happy just to have him in my life. He's an amazing man. He took care of me when I was shot and he's always protected me and watched out for me. I still feel like I'm living a dream and any minute now I'm going to wake up and that scares me because I've wanted this for so long." Penelope said.

"Penelope this is something you've both wanted but were too afraid to pursue. Trust me when I tell you that my son has been in love with you for a very long time." Fran said.

Penelope smiled. "I can see why Derek loves and admires you so much. He's an amazing man because you're an amazing woman." Penelope said.

Fran raised her glass and said "Here's from one amazing woman to another. May our lives be filled with much joy, love and happiness as our hearts can hold and may we be blessed with many grandbabies!"

Penelope smiled. "I like the sound of that." She said.

"Me too!" Fran said.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Thank you all for continuing to stick to this story. I haven't been able to update in a while. A combination of a busy schedule and a bit of writer's block. I hope you enjoy this chapter and hopefully Muse will continue to cooperate with me. ( She has such an attitude sometimes ) Thx for the wonderful reviews as always, they really make my day ******

Penelope and Fran had finished getting dinner ready and both headed to take a shower and get ready. Derek and the girls walked into the house just as Fran was coming out of her bedroom.

"Ma something's smelling real good up in here." Derek said smiling.

Fran smiled at her son. She knew his favorite meal was Lasagna and she and Penelope had prepared it for him. "I'm glad you like it. I hope you enjoy the taste even more." Fran said. "Derek can I speak to you for a moment please?" Fran said as she walked back towards her room.

"Ohhhh you're in trouble!" Sarah teased.

"Sure Ma I'll be right in." Derek said as he flashed Sarah a grin. "You're just jealous cuz you know she loves me best." He said as he followed his Mother.

"Baby close the door and come sit by me." Fran said.

When Derek sat next to his mother he said "Ma is everything ok?"

"Yea Baby everything's fine. I wanted to talk to you about something. Many years ago Nana had given me some things that she had wanted you three to have. She had been very specific with her wishes and I've honored them. Sarah knows because she was the first to get married and there was a little something from Nana for her to use on that day. I asked Sarah not to mention anything because Nana wanted this to be a surprise so I ask the same of you. Do not tell Desiree because her time hasn't come yet. "Fran said as she got up from the bed and walked over to her dresser. She opened up one of the draws and pulled out a box. "Nana wanted you to have this." She said as she handed the box to Derek.

When Derek opened it he immediately recognized it as being Nana's engagement ring. "Ma I can't take this." He said.

"Derek she wanted you to have it. Her wedding band set was three pieces. Remember she had two matching eternity rings and this engagement ring. She left the eternity rings to Sarah and Desiree and she left the engagement ring to you. She said those rings had seen years of happiness and love and she hoped that they would bless your marriages as well." Fran said.

"Ma this is beautiful I can't believe she did that." Derek said as he looked at the ring.

"I wanted to give this to you now before you went shopping with Des. If you don't want to use that as your engagement ring it's ok. I just wanted you to know that you had that here." Fran said.

"Penelope is going to love this. Can I tell her the story behind it?" Derek asked.

"Yes but you have to tell her she can't say a thing about it. Des can't know until she gets married." Fran said.

"You do realize she's going to be mad at me for not taking her shopping right?" Derek said.

"I'm sure you'll be able to handle that." Fran said. "You've always had a way with Des."

"Thanks Ma." Derek said as he reached over to hug his mother.

"When were you planning on asking her?" Fran asked.

"I don't know Ma. We're heading back sooner than I thought. We'll be leaving Friday. I'm not sure if I'll ask her here or back home." Derek explained.

"Why are you guys leaving Friday?" Fran asked.

Derek explained to his mother the rules at the BAU and the fact that they both felt they needed to talk to the team but most importantly to Hotch. "I know that Rossi can work out the details with the director but we felt it was important to give them a heads up. I thought maybe I'd ask once it was all taken care of." Derek said.

"As much as I hate to see you guys go I can understand." Fran said.

"Don't worry Ma, we'll be back in two weeks anyway to set up those computers. Besides if I do it back home I can tell Des that I bought the ring there." Derek said grinning.

"Chicken" Fran teased.

"Naaaa I'm just being proactive. Besides, mama didn't raise no idiot." He said and smiled.

"No she didn't!" Fran replied and kissed her son. "Why don't you go shower and get ready for dinner."

Derek got up and walked to the door. "Thanks again Ma." He said and then went to take a shower.

Penelope had come out of the room and was sitting with Sarah and Desiree in the living chatting about the Youth center. Sarah and Desiree were excited about all the new possibilities this equipment would bring.

"We can contact the local colleges and see if there are any professors that are willing to volunteer some time teaching." Sarah said.

"If we get some, we could also contact the local employment agencies. I'm sure they'd be willing to send over folks that need to brush up on their skills." Desiree said.

"Don't you two think you are getting ahead of yourselves here? The equipment hasn't even arrived and you're already setting up schedules and partnerships." Fran said as she entered the room.

"Ma with the equipment there we can have these programs." Sarah said.

"Honey, I'm sure we could but we need to get the equipment first and then figure out how to best use it." Fran said.

"I think your Mom's right. First you need to plan on how you're going to set this up and how you'll schedule it then you can start setting up some sort of program. I think you need to help the kids that have made the Youth Center home first then we can always build on that." Penelope said.

"I think we need to start small and take baby steps." Fran said.

"Once you get a feel for how the kids in the center react then you grow from there. I'm sure that once you've made a name for yourselves it'll all just flow." Penelope said. "Asking the local professors though is a wonderful idea. It wouldn't be a lot of time they'd need to volunteer, classes can be once a week even.

"You all planning on taking over the world or are we going to have dinner." Derek said as he walked into the room.

"Is that all you ever think about Derek? Eating?" Desiree asked.

"Hey, I could smell that Lasagna down the hall. It's calling my name!" Derek said.

"Isn't Frank coming with the kids?" Penelope asked.

"In a little while but he told me not to wait on dinner for him. You two tired the kids out so much they were still sleeping." Sarah said.

"They're great kids Sarah. I had so much fun with them today." Penelope said and smiled.

Derek walked over to Penelope and placed his arm around her. "Slow down baby girl I see where this is going." He said with a grin.

Penelope smiled at Derek. "What can I say; I'm a sucker for Derek Morgan Sr. Can you imagine a Jr?" She said chuckling.

Derek kissed the top of her head and said "DJ hmmm I like the sound of that." And smiled.

"Ohhhh I feel some more grandbabies coming on soon." Fran said smiling.

"Not too soon Mom, I'd like to enjoy a little one on one time first." Derek said grinning.

The comment caused Penelope to blush and he quickly wrapped her in his arms and kissed her gently. "I have 5 years to make up for princess and make up for them I will." He said smiling.

"Ok you two it's getting a little too mushy mushy in here." Desiree said with a smile.

"You can come help me in the kitchen to get things ready." Fran said as she grabbed Desiree's arm and then Sarah's. "You too." And walked them both into the kitchen.

Derek was still holding Penelope and he pulled her close to him. "Have I told you how much I love you today?" He asked as he planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"Yes but I'll never grow tired of hearing." She said smiling up at him.

"I'll never grow tired of saying it." He said and then kissed her again.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I know it's been a looooong time but unfortunately real life has a way of getting in the way and spoiling my fun time with Muse. I apologize for the long delay and can't really say when the next update will come but hopefully it won't take as long as this one. I hope you enjoy this and thanks to all of you that have stuck with it. You're great!**

Dinner at the Morgan household was always full of laughter. Desiree and Sarah were constantly teasing Derek, the twins couldn't stay put for longer than 5 minutes at a time so Sarah's husband would run around to grab them and try to settle them down. This time around he did have a little help from Penelope but this only fueled the twins into playing around more. Fran sat back and was content to have all her children in the same room. She looked at each of them as old memories flowed through her mind. I was at times like these that she missed her husband the most. She couldn't help but feel how he was cheated out of all of this. Derek noticed his mother's faraway look and immediately knew where she had gone. He knew that look all too well and understood how she felt. He too missed his father when they all got together and couldn't help but wonder what life would have been like had he still been around.

After dinner was done and dishes had been cleared they all moved to the living room with coffee and talked for the rest of the night. Penelope caught herself a few times thinking about her own siblings and her parents. She wished more than anything that her parents could have met Derek. They would have loved him almost as much as she did. She made a mental note to call her brothers as soon as they returned to Virginia. Spending time with the Morgan girls made her realize that her relationship with them wasn't what it should be and she was determined to try and fix that.

Plans were made for Derek and Penelope's return and the excitement of getting much needed equipment for the Youth Center was the center of conversation. The twins had settled in on Derek and Penelope's lap and when Sarah noticed that they were fast asleep she called it a night.

"That's my queue to go home." Sarah said. "Will we see you guys tomorrow?"

"I have a few things planned but we should be home around 8 or so." Derek said.

"What time is your flight on Friday?" Sarah asked.

"We have to be at the airport by 9. We leave at 11." Derek said.

Sarah walked over to her brother and gave him a huge hug. "I know we'll see you tomorrow but it's so nice to have you around." She said.

"You know I'm always a phone call away Sis." Derek said hugging her tight.

"It's not the same baby brother. We love having you in our day to day lives. "Sarah said.

"I know but you do understand that what I do can only be done out of Quantico." Derek explained.

"I know but it still doesn't make it any easier. I will say this though, I'm glad you're not alone anymore." She said and looked at Penelope.

Penelope smiled.

They all said their goodbyes and Derek walked them down to their car. When he had helped get his niece and nephew strapped in the car he stood by Sarah to give her another hug.

"Thanks." He said

"For what?" Sarah asked.

"For making it so easy with Pen. For making her feel so welcomed." He said.

"Derek, I genuinely like Penelope. I see how the twins interact with her and that's all I need. Besides, she grounds you and I like that. I like who you are with her." Sarah said.

Derek smiled. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." He said and walked back inside the house. Once inside he found his Desiree and Penelope getting the couch ready. "Where's mom?" He asked.

"In the kitchen putting things away. She kicked us both out." Desiree said.

Derek shook his head and laughed. "She's never going to change." He said chuckling.

"Ok you two I will be leaving you alone. I have some studying to do for class tomorrow. "Desiree said and walked into her room.

Derek walked over to Penelope and wrapped his arms around her pulling her close to him. "You ready to head home yet?" He asked.

Penelope smiled. "I don't know I kind of like it here." She said. "I love spending time with your family."

"I do too but I'm really looking forward to it being just you and me." He said wiggling his eyebrows and grinning.

Penelope couldn't help but smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a gentle kiss. "You do realize that when we get home we have to plan for the get together with the team right?" She asked.

Derek let out a sigh. "You're torturing me woman!" He said and grinned. To prove his point, he pulled her closer to him pressing her body hard against his. She could feel him against her hips and blushed.

"DEREK! This is your mom's house!" She said. Eyes wide open.

"Don't go blaming me! This is all your fault." He said grinning.

"How is that my fault? I didn't do a thing!" She protested.

"You smiled and that's all I need." He said.

"Just a smile huh?" She asked playfully. "That won't be hard."

"That's what you think baby girl." He said as he leaned in to kiss her and pushed against her once more just to remind her. Nothing but a soft moan could be heard coming from Penelope and when they came up for air she whispered "Who's torturing who here?"

"Misery loves company Baby girl." He said and smiled.

The following morning they had both gotten up early and were ready to leave the house by nine. They had made plans with Fran to meet up for lunch and he'd wanted to be able to go by James' house to see his mom. The visit had been short and most of the time was spent trying to ease her concerns about James and college. She was very proud of her son and knew he had worked hard for his scholarship, but their financial situation didn't warrant for too much wiggle room. It wasn't until Derek explained that they could stay at one of his rentals that she seemed to sigh and relax. The realization of what he was offering made her cry tears of joy.

"My boy is going to college and we owe it all to you Derek." She said patting his cheek a little bit harder than he expected. "Your Momma did good." She said.

"Diane, James earned his scholarship. He deserves all the credit. He's a good boy and you should be very proud of what's he's done. He's had a wonderful example in you." Derek said as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently.

"Say all you want Agent Morgan, but I give credit where credit is due." She said and smiled as she looked over at Penelope. "Hold on to this one honey, he's a keeper."

"Oh I plan to." Penelope said looking at Derek and smiling.

"I'm sorry we can't stay longer, I made plans to meet up with Mom but you have all my contact info. Call me when you guys get the invitation letter so we can make plans. James can stay with me for those days and I'll make sure to go with him." Derek said.

Diane stood up and hugged Derek. "You're just like your Papa you know. Always helping out those in need. I know he's looking down at you right now and smiling." She said.

"Thank you." Derek said. They walked towards the door and said their goodbyes. Once inside the car Derek turned to Penelope and said "You think there's any truth to that?"

"I do because I see it every day. You're always watching out for people." She said.

"No, I mean that my dad is smiling. I often wonder if he's proud." Derek said his voice solemn.

Penelope grabbed his hand in hers and squeezed it. "Derek, of course he's proud. Look at you. Look at all you've done. How can anyone not be proud baby?" She said.

"Do we ever stop wanting their approval?" He asked "I find myself still wanting it even though he's gone."

"I think that when we have good examples we strive for it. I think it's only natural baby." She said.

He pulled her hand towards his lips and kissed it gently. "You always know exactly what to say." He said and smiled. They drove off and met up with Fran for lunch. She had meetings all afternoon so lunch was short and sweet. With the whole afternoon to themselves and knowing that the house would be full at night they opted to go back to the park and enjoy some alone time while they could. Sitting exactly where they sat only days before Derek had laid down and rested his head on Penelope's lap. As she gently stroked his head they talked about talking to the team and their fears about Strauss and the frat rules.

"I think Rossi can handle her but it's up to Hotch too." Derek said.

"Derek, if we can't work together then I'll just find another job. I can work anywhere and do my geek thing." She said.

"I don't want you to give it up. I know it gets to you but I also know you love what you do." Derek said.

"I love the team baby and they aren't going anywhere. I can still keep in touch with them." She said.

"I guess we can cross that bridge when we get to it." He said.

"Derek, what made you decide to open up to me about your feelings?" She asked.

"Emily and a conversation we had at the hospital in NY." He said. "You know Em; she's always ready to tell you what she thinks. She doesn't hold back and she called me on it. We had some words while Hotch was getting my release papers and she hit home. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. I know how long I've felt this way and I've never had the courage to say anything, so I was wondering what made you finally say something." She said.

"Are you having any doubts?" He asked concerned.

"Oh god no. It's just I can't help but think about all the time we've both wasted." She said.

"I don't think we've wasted time really. I know I had to go through some things in my life in order to get where I am now. I don't think that I would have truly appreciated what we have now. Not with the frame of mind I had back then." He said.

Penelope smiled. "Now who knows exactly what to say?"

"I'm just stating the facts Penepony." He said and grinned.

"Baby you do realize that I will have to talk Kevin too right? I need to break things off the right way. I handle that very well." She said.

Derek nodded. "I don't like the idea but I knew you'd want to." He said. "There's one condition though."

"Let me guess, you want to be there." She said.

"In the vicinity yes. I don't think me being right there would make things any easier but I don't want you to be alone with him." Derek said.

"I don't want to be alone with him either but you being there will make things worse." She said.

"I don't have to be in front of him baby, but I want to be within earshot. There is no way I'm letting him near you unless I can get to you quickly." Derek said as he sat up.

She reached over and placed her hand on his cheek. "Baby I know you're concerned but I think we should discuss this with the team as well. Maybe Hotch or Rossi can be there with you or we can do this so the team is around. I know Kevin and he'll stir trouble. I'd like to make sure that he can't create it for you." She said.

He leaned in and kissed her gently. "I love you." He said.

"I love you too." She said and leaned against him.

"We should start heading back. Everyone will be home soon and we still have to pack." He said.

"Five more minutes." She said as she closed her eyes and nuzzled against him. "I want to enjoy the moment and make another memory." She said.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I know it's been a very long time and I apologize. Between real life taking over and then my Muse deciding It was going on vacation, this story has taken a back seat. I've struggled with this chapter and I can't say I'm 100% happy about it, but I'm hoping Muse will decide to come back and play.. in the meantime please enjoy and all reviews are welcomed. **

On the way back to the house, they had both decided that it made sense to just leave all the clothes they had brought with them. They'd be back in two weeks and would only be bringing them back anyway. As soon as they arrived home, they set out to wash all the clothes and put together the things that they would be taking with them, which wasn't much. Penelope packed up her laptop and placed her toiletries in a small handbag so as not to forget anything. With everything under control, Derek headed towards the shower.

"I'm going to take a shower Baby; I wouldn't mind some company in there." He said giving her that smile that had her melting every time.

"Mmmm as inviting as that is Angel, that's one memory I'd like to make at home." She said as she walked over to him. Wrapping her arms around him she gently kissed his chest and looked up at him. "This whole trip has been about making new memories, I don't want to look back on this and think that our first time being together was wrong because we snuck around in your Mom's house. I want it to be special and not rushed because we think someone came home. Please don't be mad at me." She pleaded.

"Baby, I could never be mad at your for that. In fact, I love that you respect her so much. It's one of the many qualities about you I love." He said and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "We have a lifetime to make memories."

Penelope smiled. "Go shower, I'll finish up with the clothes and put them away. "She said.

Derek walked out of the shower and wrapped a towel around himself. His body glistening with water beads as he walked into the room. Penelope smiled at him.

"Whaat?" He asked.

"Nothing Baby, you're just making this whole do the right thing so very hard. It really should be illegal to look as good as you do." She said. "You should come with some sort of warning label… caution Always Hot."

Derek couldn't help but laugh. "You're a silly silly woman." He said. "Go take your shower before I lose the little amount of control I have around you and drop this towel."

"Ohhh threatening me with a good time is so going to get me to behave… NOT." She said grinning.

Derek smiled. "Is there anything left for me to do for the bags or did you finish already?" He asked.

"All done gorgeous. The clean clothes are put away too, there is only one load left in the dryer just keep an eye on that and I'll get it when I'm out of the shower." She said as she walked into the bathroom.

Derek was getting dressed when he heard the front door open and close. Judging by the time he knew it had to be his Mom. He finished up and went down to greet her. He knew she would make a big fuss about dinner and he wanted to make sure she didn't go overboard.

He walked into the kitchen to find her unpacking some grocery bags. "Want some help?" He asked.

Fran quickly turned around and smiled at her son. Every day he looked more and more like his father she thought. "I'm ok baby why don't you go and watch some TV while I get things ready." She said.

"Ma if I don't stay here and help I know you'll spend most of the night in this kitchen preparing and serving enough food to feed the neighborhood. I want to make sure you keep it simple. We'll be back in two weeks so there's no need to go all out." He said as he walked over to her to hug her hoping he could stop the protest that was beginning to form on her lips.

Fran smiled as her son, who towered above her wrapped his arms around her and practically lifted her off the ground. Fran placed her hands gently around his face and said "Do you have any idea how happy I am that you found Penelope?"

Derek smiled at her. "As happy as I am?" He asked.

Fran simply smiled and nodded.

Derek helped by putting things away as Fran set up to prepare dinner. "Where's Penelope?" She asked.

"She's taking a shower, I'm sure she'll be down soon." He said as he put away some canned goods.

"Have you two spoken to the team yet?" Fran asked trying to mask her concern over the no frat rules.

"They know we're headed back tomorrow and we'll be getting together but they have no clue about us. We sort of wanted to talk to Hotch first but we're not sure how we're going to do that. We might head over to his house when we land. This way we can give him a heads up." Derek said. "Stop worrying Mom, I'm sure it'll be ok. Penelope isn't technically a part of the team although she's pretty assigned to our team. Rossi will handle it; he has a way with our Director." Derek added raising his eyebrows as those last words were spoken hinting at something he couldn't completely confirm.

"You'll call me when you know?" Fran asked.

"I promise." He said and smiled.

After dinner, they all helped to clear the dishes and clean up. They had all agreed that a good game of cards would be a great way to end the night. Derek and Penelope needed to be at the airport no later than 7am so by 9 that evening they'd called it a night. Hugs and kisses were given out as Derek insisted that nobody needed to be awake that early in the morning. "We'll be back in two weeks, no need to make a big deal of our leaving." He'd argued. Fran however had made it clear that there was no way her Son and future daughter were getting on a plane without a proper breakfast.

Breakfast was ready at 5am. Fran had set the table and waiting for them to down. As much as she loved it when her son came to town, it was this moment she always dreaded. She hated that he lived so far away but understood that his job required it. Still, saying goodbye was always hard. Derek and Penelope walked into the kitchen. The smell of breakfast leading them directly there.

"Ma you didn't have to do this." Derek protested as he sat down and immediately reached for plate of pancakes on the table."

Fran laughed. "I know I didn't HAVE to I wanted to." She said. "Penelope sweetheart, sit and eat."

Penelope usually didn't eat in the morning, coffee was her only staple but she knew that there was no way Fran would let her leave without having something. After finishing up, Penelope went to clear her plate and Fran stopped her. "Don't even think about it. You two are going to be late." Fran said. "I'll take care of this after you leave."

They said their goodbyes at the door with reassurances that two weeks would fly by. As they drove off to the airport, Fran waved until they were out site. It would be a long day for her waiting for the outcome of the discussion with the team.

As Derek and Penelope drove to the airport, they were silent. Each thinking about the team and what the reaction would be. Derek finally broke the silence.

"You still think we should show up at Hotch's house?" He asked.

Penelope nodded. "He really should be the first to know. Derek I was thinking..." she said but he quickly interrupted her.

"You're not leaving the BAU. Let's talk to Hotch before we both go making any decisions that may or may not be necessary." He said. Squeezing her hand gently.

Penelope tried to smile. She knew they had a hurdle ahead of them. She knew the team would be happy for them but it was Strauss that she was concerned about. Strauss had it out for the team and she knew that this would be the one thing she could use to finally break them apart. There was no way she would allow for that to happen. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if her and Derek's relationship was the avenue by which Strauss would finally win.

The plane ride home was quick. After landing, they headed to the parking lot towards Derek's truck. Once on the road, it was Derek who called Hotch.

"Hey Hotch, I'm sorry to call so early but is it ok if Penelope and I come by your place? There's something we'd like to talk to you about." Derek said. "Ok, we should be there in about 15 minutes. See you then." He said as he flipped his phone off.

He squeezed Penelope's hand and smiled. "Just take deep breaths; you'll see this will be fine." He said reassuringly.

Penelope nodded. She couldn't seem to get any words out. The butterflies in her stomach were quickly becoming tennis balls. At least that's what it felt like.

Derek noticing her concern pulled off to the side of the road. Turning to face her he gently placed his hand on her cheek, his thumb softly caressing it. "Baby girl, we've come too far to just give up. This has been a long time coming. I'm not giving up without a good fight." He said. "Nothing is going to change how I feel about you or US."

A single tear began to fall against Penelope's cheek and he quickly rubbed it away. She leaned against his hand and closed her eyes. "I'm scared." She said so softly it was barely a whisper.

"Nothing to be scared about, I'm not going anywhere." He said as he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

She looked into his eyes and could see his determination. She wasn't questioning that at all. She had waited a long time to be with him. Hell, she'd loved him from the start and she wasn't about to walk away from this. She just couldn't help wondering if their determination would be enough to keep everyone else together.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews **** I hope you enjoy this next chapter. **

The rest of the drive from the airport was quiet. As they turned onto Hotch's block, Derek though he saw Emily's car pulling away from the house in the opposite direction. He looked over at Penelope, hoping to confirm what he saw only to find that she was staring blankly out the passenger window.

"Baby girl, relax." He said.

She turned to him and smiled and took a deep breath. "I'm trying to. I'm sorry." She said.

"No apology necessary sweetheart, it comes with the territory." He said and smiled.

They parked the truck in front of Hotch's house and walked down his walkway towards the door. Just as Derek was about knock on the door, it opened. Hotch was talking on the phone and gestured for them to come in.

"Dave I need you to handle this if you can. You know very well that she's not going to be receptive to me at all." Hotch said. "That doesn't apply here and we both know it. I'm not going to allow her to take advantage of this. I'll go above her if need be." He continued. "Thanks, I'll wait for your call." And with that he hung up.

Turning to face Derek and Penelope, they could both tell that their news had somehow already gotten to Hotch. "So how much trouble are we in?" Penelope asked without looking at Hotch, she couldn't bare to look him in the eyes.

"Is there something you two want to tell me that I may not already know?" Hotch asked with a serious tone.

"Hotch; I think you should know that our coming here was to tell you first. We didn't want you finding out before we had a chance to explain." Derek said almost apologetically. "I'm not sure what's happening or who knows about us, but we haven't been flaunting anything about town."

"There's been a complaint filed against you two with Strauss." Hotch explained. "She called right after I hung up with you two. "

"How the hell did she find out?" Derek yelled. "What does she have people following us around?"

"No, she has something better than that. She has an employee filing charges. I'll give you both 3 guesses but the first two don't count." He said sarcastically.

"Who the hell would …." And before he could finish the sentence Penelope said in a low voice, sounding almost defeated. "Kevin."

"He went to Strauss this morning and filed a complaint against you both. Said that he had proof that you both violated the Frat Rule. I talked to Rossi just before you both got here and he's going to talk to Strauss to find out what's going on. In the meantime, I need you both to stay away from Lynch." Hotch said.

Derek was about to protest when Hotch looked him dead on and repeated himself "Stay away from Lynch. That's an order!" he said. "How long has this been going on?" Hotch asked.

"It just happened Hotch. We got together in Chicago. Kevin called while I was there, he knew I was with Derek and he had some issues with it. Words got a bit heated and I basically broke it off with Kevin. He did say I was making a huge mistake, I guess he meant that as a threat. "Penelope explained.

"Hotch you know there was nothing going on between us prior to that." Derek said. "We would have come to you first if there was." He insisted.

"Listen, contrary to what you both might think right now, I'm not upset at either one of you. I am upset with Strauss because we all know she'll use this and I'm upset at Lynch because his running to her had nothing to do with his feelings for Penelope. On the contrary, he was only setting out to hurt you both. Having said that, with regards to you two getting together I will say this one time and one time only. It's about time!" He said and smiled.

Penelope, who had been intently watching Hotch and bracing for the lecture on the no Frat Rule was taken by total surprise at his reply. She smiled at Hotch and said thank you.

"Penelope, our whole team watched you two dance around each other for 5 years now. We all knew it would happen eventually we just never thought it would take this long. My God you two are slow." Hotch said exasperated.

"What about Strauss. I don't want to cause this team any trouble because of our relationship. I'll quit before she can manipulate this to her advantage." Derek said.

"Derek, there's nothing she can do about it. She'll try to push this as far as she can but bottom line, Penelope and you and not in the same department. The no Frat Rule doesn't apply." Hotch said with conviction. "No one is quitting over this." He looked at Penelope, whose mouth was trying to form some words and quickly nipped that in the bud. "Is this what you two wanted to discuss tonight as well?" Hotch asked.

"We wanted to let the team know but felt we needed to talk to you first." Derek explained.

"I'll pretend to be surprised." He said and smiled.

"Thanks Hotch" Derek said and extended his hand to shake Hotch's.

Penelope walked over to Hotch and gave him a hug. "Thank you Sir." She said.

"Penelope, we just hugged, don't you think you could call me Hotch now?" He said and smiled at her.

Blushing, she looked at him and smiled. "Yes Si… err Hotch."

Derek and Hotch laughed.

"Sorry, old habits and all that." She said.

"Derek." Hotch said. "I do need for you to stay away from Lynch. Do not give him any reason to provoke another complaint filing. Is that clear?" Hotch said.

Derek nodded. He didn't like it very much but he knew that Hotch was right.

"That goes for you too Penelope. Let's give Rossi time to work his magic before you go anywhere near him." Hotch said. Penelope nodded. Deep down she knew Hotch was right. As much as she wanted to rip into Kevin, she had to wait.

Derek wrapped his arm around Penelope and walked out the door. He knew what she was thinking but there was no way he would let her near Lynch by herself now. Not after the stunt he had pulled.

Once inside the car, Derek turned to Penelope and said "I'd rather you stayed at my house tonight Baby, I don't want to give him so much as an opportunity to corner you alone."

Penelope nodded, if truth be told, she would feel safer with Derek than in her apartment by herself. "Can we swing by to get some of my clothes?" She asked.

"That's exactly where I'm headed first. We'll pick up Clooney afterwards." Derek said.

"Don't forget we need to get ready for tonight too. What time is everyone coming over?" Penelope asked.

"I told them to be there by 6. That means we have all day." He said looking over at her and grinning.

"What will we do?" Penelope said grinning right back at him.

Two hours after leaving Hotch's house, Penelope and Derek drove up to Derek's home. They had picked up clothes from Penelope's home, stopped by the market to get what they needed for the get together and picked up Clooney from the Kennel. Once inside the house, Penelope proceeded to put away the groceries while Derek put down fresh water and food for Clooney.

"Baby girl, I'm going to clear up a couple of draws for you in my room and make some room in the closet." Derek said.

"Angel I have draws already in the spare room. That's all I need." She said.

"Baby, I don't want you in the spare room; I want you in our room with me." Derek said as he walked over towards her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

The way he called it "our" room hadn't gone unnoticed by Penelope. Looking up at him and smiling she still couldn't believe that it was all really happening. She knew they still had a lot of hurdles to get past but for right now, for the moment, she was going to enjoy the feel of his arms around her and the idea that they were a couple. Getting on her tippy toes, she reached up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "You do realize that wooing me this way isn't going to get you out of helping me set up for tonight right?" She asked as leaned in and started to place gentle kisses on his neck.

A low growl escaped Derek's throat. "I'm not trying to get out of anything but if you keep this up, I will be trying to get "into" something soon." He said as he grabbed her hips tightly and pulled her against him. His hands wandering over her butt and squeezing it gently he leaned into her and nibbled on her ear as he whispered "Ready to make another memory tonight?"

Penelope moaned and dug her nails gently into his back. "I'll take that as a yes." Derek said. With that he slapped her butt and walked away grinning.

"Ohhh that is sooo not how I pictured this." Penelope said.

Derek chuckled. "I'll let you show me how you pictured it tonight. The way I look at it, it's a win win for me." He said as he winked at her and walked into the bedroom to clear some draws.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews **** I hope you enjoy this next chapter I'm sort of on a roll! **

Derek and Penelope were setting up when the doorbell rang at exactly 6 o'clock. They both looked at each other and as if practiced said "Reid". Derek walked to the door shaking his head and mumbling under his breath something about being a stickler for time. He opened the door for Reid only to find that JJ had tagged along with him.

JJ was the first inside, she kissed Derek hello and made a bee line straight for Penelope. "I've missed you." She said as she hugged Penelope.

"I've missed you too." Penelope said. "Come here boy genius I have a hug for you too." Penelope said as she gestured towards Reid. Reid hesitated for a few seconds but started to walk towards the girls when Derek spread his arms wide open and jokingly offered a hug and kiss. Rossi arrived soon after followed by Hotch and Emily. With so much commotion going on, nobody bothered to notice that Emily and Hotch had come in the same car. After more of the hugs and I miss yous between the girls, Derek offered everyone drinks and proceeded to provide them.

The girls all huddled together and talked shopping, hairstyles and the need for a girl's night out, while the men sat around drinking beer and discussing sports.

"So how was Chicago?" Emily asked with a bit of innuendo in her voice.

"Geez Em, cut to the chase why don't you." JJ said rolling her eyes.

"What?" She asked innocently blinking her eyes. "It's just a question."

"Yea right." She said and quickly turned to Penelope. "So how was Chicago? How is Derek's family? What are his sisters like?"

"Oh my God JJ, come up for air." Emily teased.

Penelope couldn't help but laugh. She loved JJ and Emily and thought of them as sisters. She wanted to tell them so bad but she had to wait. She knew they would be upset that she kept this secret from them, but she also knew that they would be very excited about the news. Especially since it was always JJ and Emily that kept insisting that Derek had feelings for her. "I had a wonderful time. His family is great. Derek is a lot like his Mom. She's very loving and warm." Penelope told them.

"That's it? That's all you're going to tell us?" Emily said sounding a bit disappointed.

Penelope looked over at Derek hoping to get his attention. She wanted to get things out in the open quickly so she could stop feeling guilty about keeping secrets. He looked over at her and understood the plea in her eyes.

"Hey ya'll, gather around here a sec I have something I'd like to tell you." Derek said. Penelope smiled and mouthed thank you as everyone circled around Derek. "As ya'll know Penelope and I spent a week at my Mom's house in Chicago. Certain things happened in Chicago that we felt you all needed to know. Actually more like we wanted to share with you." Derek said. "Baby you want to tell them?" Derek asked Penelope as he motioned for her to come join him. She walked over to where he was and Derek quickly got behind her and wrapped his arms around her. That was all JJ and Emily needed to pick up on the happenings of Chicago. They both ran to Penelope to hug her but because of the way Derek was holding on to her, he wound up in the group hug too.

Reid looking a little confused leaned over to Rossi and asked "what happened in Chicago?"

Rossi signed. As smart as Reid was, he really had no common sense. "Derek and Penelope got together." Rossi explained.

"What do you mean?" Reid asked. This caught Emily's attention and she teased Reid.

"You're a little slow on the uptake tonight Reid." She teased. "What Rossi means is they are dating."

"How is that news? I thought they were together all along." He said with a straight face but it caused everyone to laugh.

After they all congratulated Derek and Penelope, the questions started. The girls especially wanted all the details and so slowly they separated from the men so Penelope could fill them in. Occasionally the men would hear a few giggles, the occasional NO WAY that usually came out of Emily's mouth but mostly all heard were JJ and Emily in unison with Awwww's. Derek would shake his head every time and eventually he looked at the men and said "I'm not living this down any time soon am I?"

"Ain't looking that way. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking more along the lines of Whooped!" Rossi teased.

Derek just smiled. "Hey man, it's been a long road, call it what you want, I'm guilty. Look at her, she smiles and I'm happy. She's exactly what I didn't know I was looking for. "

"Don't you mean she's exactly what you were looking for but wouldn't admit?" Hotch said.

"Do you really want to go down that road?" Derek asked jokingly. "What can I say, sometimes I a little stubborn."

Reid was drinking at that very moment and coughed to avoid the choke. "Sometimes? " He asked still coughing to clear his throat. That earned him a soft tap on the back of head. "Hey!" He protested as he rubbed his head.

"I hate to bring down this wonderful looooooooooong overdue celebration, but has anyone thought about Strauss?" JJ asked.

"Don't worry about Strauss, that's already been taken care of." Rossi said confidently.

"Uhhh do you mean she's ok with all this taken care of? Or that's why we're all here because we're going to hide the body taken of? Emily asked sarcastically. "Cuz either way I'm in!"

Derek looked over at Emily and said "You're a little scary you know that?"

"Remember that Morgan, now that you're dating my best friend, I'll be watching you buddy." She said. "Be afraid, be very afraid." They all laughed but deep down inside they all knew the girls stuck together and there wasn't anything they wouldn't do for each other.

"Hey Em, can you and I talk a bit?" Derek said. "Outside" as he gestured towards the backyard.

"Sure." She said and put down her drink and walked towards the door.

Once outside Derek wasn't sure how to start. He had this whole speech prepared and for the life of him just couldn't get it started.

"What's going on Derek?" Emily asked a little confused as to his request.

"Em, I wanted to apologize. I was out of line that night I was hurting so I lashed out at you to help me forget my own pain. I should never have said what I did. I was totally out of line." He said.

"Derek, there's no need to apologize. I know you were hurting and I know it wasn't personal. Besides… everything you said was true." Emily admitted.

"I still didn't have a right. Knowing how you both are I should've known that you two would get it together eventually, you're meant to be, but you'll do it in your way and in your own time frame, not mine. When you're ready you'll be able to show the world." He said.

Emily placed her hand on Derek's. "How did you find out?" She asked and smile.

"I saw your car pulling out of his driveway this morning. Pen didn't notice and I never said anything. I'm behind you all the way though. Whatever you both decide I'm there." Derek said.

"Right now is not the right time. Aaron still hasn't gotten his divorce and things at the Bureau are well, just a little tense. When the time's right we'll let everyone know but for right now I'd rather this stayed just between us. I don't want to implicate anyone else in our affairs. No pun intended." She said and smiled.

"I'm so sorry Em. I don't let people into my circle very easily, and the thought of me hurting you was killing me." He said.

"You helped me Derek. It was soon after that speech of yours that I got enough courage to speak up. So technically I owe you." She said.

"We're good then?" Derek asked.

"Solid." She said and hugged him.

The rest of the night the team celebrated. Poor Reid spent most of the night being the blunt of jokes although every chance they had, one of the girls was sure to tease Derek about being whooped. Everything was finally falling into place and Derek knew the only thing left was to propose to Penelope. He needed to plan this out. He wanted it to be the memory of all memories. It had to be special. It had to be memorable. Time to plan.


End file.
